Breaking Free
by Cierra
Summary: Charlie is nearing his breaking point and decides that some big changes are needed in his life.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 1

It was not good enough. Nothing he did was good enough. Once again, Charlie had helped Don and his team to track down a killer.

This case was especially hard. Charlie understood that it was rough on everyone involved in the case. He had spoke to a few of the parents of the murdered children. He was driven because of the pain of the parents and made finding the answer his main focus for weeks.

The Professor had others take over his classes to focus on nothing but the case. The entire team was working nearly non stop and sleep as well as tempers were in short supply. They had existed on caffeine and adrenalin. Ran down any and all leads, had pulled old unsolved child murders to look for an answer wherever they could, but it all lead nowhere.

Don snapped at all of the team at some point during the investigation, but it seemed to Charlie that his brother was blaming Charlie for the delays and dead ends to finding the killer. With every new victim, Don cast an accusing eye at Charlie in front of his white board as he tossed down more crime photos of dead children.

Finally, a break came when Charlie predicted, accurately when and where the killer would kidnap another child from and with a dozen agents ready and waiting, the suspect was apprehended as he again grabbed a child in an open and populated area. With the DNA found from the victims, they had a solid case. After nearly three months, the case was ready to close.

While Charlie had worked many cases for the FBI, NSA and other agencies where there was little to no sleep or breaks from the numbers, never had he felt the complete shut down at the end that he did this time. He was mentally and physically exhausted.

After the interrogation, Don sent his crew home, telling them to take a long weekend and report back Monday morning. Charlie waited in the conference room for Don and after a while wandered out to look for him. Don had left and not said a word to Charlie.

It was not just that Charlie did not even have a ride home, it was not that he expected a pat on the back or even a thank you, but he did expect that Don would say something, anything to him regarding the case, the time he gave and the effort or just to talk about it to help with the closure.

Charlie had given this case everything he had and his own job and responsibilities were put on hold. For as much as Don did not seem to appreciate what Charlie had done it was a fact that the case would not have closed without Charlie's help. The murders were brutal, the stress to find the killer overwhelming. He could not help feeling that his brother had let him down now.

Charlie took a cab home. His dad was out and there was no note. There was no reason why Alan would expect either son at the house that night. Charlie drug himself up the stairs and got out of his clothes, into some sweat pants and collapsed into bed. He was asleep instantly.

When he woke up the next day, Charlie was not surprised to find that he had slept most of it away. He heard the rumbling of his stomach and could not remember the last time he had eaten and he felt periods of dizziness. He took a quick shower and headed down to the kitchen. Just as his foot hit the bottom step, Alan walked in the door. "Hey stranger, I didn't know you were home." Alan noted the dark circles under Charlie's eyes. He had to made a great effort to not gasp at the way Charlie's clothes hung off his skeletal frame.

"Hi Dad, I got home last night while you were out," Charlie said with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "The killer has been caught and the case is finally over. I'm just headed to the kitchen to get something to eat before I call work to let them know I will be resuming classes on Monday."

Alan was relieved that the case was over and hoped it would mean that he would be seeing more of his sons. He had been making plans for when life was in the household was normal again. The senior Eppes had been seeing a woman he recently met through a mutual friend. Pauline was a widow, near his age with three grown children. She also had a few grandchildren. She had certainly been helpful for the lonely hours when Alan was not working or doing volunteer work. He was looking forward to her finally meeting his boys.

Alan thought a barbeque would be a great time for them to meet. Besides his sons he had planned to invite Don's team along with Larry and Amita. Amita was leaving soon and would be teaching at Harvard. It could be a joint purpose get together.

There had not been any word from Don over the weekend. Charlie spend the time catching up on much need rest and his father spent a good bit of time coaxing him to 'eat just a bit more'.

Monday morning, Charlie went in early to get back to his teaching. He knew that things would be hectic with his classes. Finals were fast approaching and judging by the grades he saw when looking over the student records, a very large percentage of his students would just not be ready.

His first week back his students were taking up all of the free time he had during the day for extra help, advise and tutoring. With having different teachers during the case, the extra help that Dr. Eppes was normally very generous with was not shared by all of the teachers, especially fill-ins who had their own classes to worry about.

Every night Charlie would get home late and every morning he was out the door before the sun was even up. The professor was looking forward to the time when the finals were finished, and have some down time.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Thanks for the encouraging reviews. This is my first story submission to this site and my first Numb3rs fan fic. I really am a fan of Charlie and Dons and of course, I don't really think Don is a jerk at all.

Chapter 2

On Saturday was the planned barbeque. Don and his team were there as well as Larry, Amita and Pauline. Charlie had told his father that he would be late for the barbeque due to an early appointment with a student. He had other appointments during the day but had left a two hour break in the schedule just to make his dad happy.

When he arrived at the house, he parked his bike and headed to the backyard. He could hear Alan expressing concerns about him. He stopped to listen. "He's barely eating, comes in late at night and is gone before I even get up in the morning. There was hardly a break between the long case and finals and I am very worried about him. It may help if you can talk to him since he is not listening to me."

There was nearly a full minute of silence and then Charlie heard Don's voice. "Dad, Charlie's an adult. He is old enough to take care of himself and will be just fine. Charlie is always fine." After a pause he added, "No matter what, Charlie always comes through shining. He lives and breathes numbers and teaching from the protection of his bubble. If he ever acted normal then we would know something was wrong."

Without being seen, Charlie backtracked and headed into the house instead. He decided that he really didn't want to be in Don's company today. He grabbed an oatmeal bar out of the pantry, a bottle of water from the refrigerator and headed back out to his bike.

Charlie knew that Alan was right to be concerned. He felt completely near the end of his rope. He hoped that he would not snap before finals were over. There was very little the young professor could do about the situation in any case. The reason so many students needed the extra help was due to the time Charlie had taken off for the case and while he did not regret the decision; he was paying a high price for it now.

His normal 'office hours' and 'open door policy' had turned into every spare minute before, between and after classes. They included his lunch breaks and often his weekend time as was the case today. On the return trip to his office he considered that he would have to do some thinking and make some decisions soon.

Charlie finally met Pauline Sunday evening. He was working at home alone and had papers all over the dining room table which he was referring to while preparing the final examinations.

Alan and Pauline had been to the grocery store and when Alan opened the door for her, she walked through to the dining room. As she set one of the bags down she shoved Charlie's notes to the side, with an annoyed sigh. Charlie had not noticed they were in the room until she moved the papers. His head shot up and he was surprised to be looking in the eyes of a stranger in his dining room.

If there was one thing Alan knew about Charlie it was that he was far more likely to overlook a physical attack than he would anyone moving his notes. Seeing the fire in Charlie's eyes after Pauline dropped the bag on the table, Alan quickly made introductions.

"Pauline, I would like for you to meet my youngest son, Charlie. Charlie this is Pauline Ryman that I've told you about." The fire was out but the coldness remained.

"Nice to meet you Pauline." Charlie said. While it was in no way rude, there was not a lot of warmth in the words either.

"Charlie, you father has told me so much about you and I'm glad we could finally meet." With barely a pause she asked, "Isn't the garage where you do your work? It would keep the clutter out of sight and make the house more relaxing."

Charlie normally had a lot of tolerance for rudeness, but nothing about the last few months had been normal in his life and he was not feeling tolerant now. Alan was not sure what his response would be but he was surprised when Charlie said, "Then maybe you should just go back to your OWN house and relax."

"Charlie that's a little harsh." Alan did not think it would do to get Charlie going just now with all of the stress he had been under lately and it did not look like Charlie was the least bit sorry for the comment. "We were just out doing shopping for a special meal that Pauline and I will be preparing together for when her three children and five grandchildren come here on Wednesday evening. Don has already said that he'll try to be here and I hope you can as well."

"No, I can't make it Wednesday. Finals will be starting next week and I'll be busy until they're over." He went back to his notes.

Alan and Pauline took the bags into the kitchen and Alan whispered to her that Charlie had been under a lot of stress lately and that it would be best to reintroduce them after finals.

On Monday morning, Charlie received a voice mail from Don. He wanted help with a case that is not going anywhere. Charlie did not have the time to call Don back and that night, just as Charlie was finishing up with a student and was expecting another any minute, Don called again.

Charlie saw that it was Don on caller ID and answered. "Hi Don."

"What do you mean 'Hi Don'? I've been waiting for you to call me back and I do not appreciate that you are ignoring my calls."

Charlie said, "I'm really sorry Don, but..."

He was cut off when Don said, "Charlie, I can't listen to your excuses right now. I called you because I need you to help out." Always, in the past, when Don asked for his help, Charlie was only too willing to do whatever it took to assist with the case, but he was already in over his head for the next two weeks.

"Look Charlie, I'm at your house and really expected you to be here. I have the notes from the case and will leave them here since I have to get back to the office. Call me tomorrow with whatever you come up with."

By the time Don finished, Charlie had worked himself into a bit of a steam and opened his mouth to reply, when he realized that Don had hung up without letting him say a word.

As Charlie was getting ready to leave and then on his bike ride home, he considered that the decision he was considering was something that he HAD to do for himself. When he walked into the house, he turned off the light that his father had left on for him. He bypassed the dining room table where he knew Don would have left the notes, grabbed an apple and a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and went upstairs to work on the preparation of the exams.

He woke up the next day determined to puts his plan into motion. Charlie made it out the door without seeing his father and biked to school. He had another early appointment with a student and then would be going to see the Dean.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Thanks for the nice reviews. You guys are very encouraging for keeping the story going and I hope you are not disappointed with where it goes.

Chapter 3

As his final class of the day was leaving, Charlie reflected that today, for the first time in so long, he felt a bit more in charge of where his life was going.

He had some time to work on the exams before his student was due. The student was Mark Brady. Of all of the students that Charlie had spent extra time tutoring, without a doubt, Mark was his greatest success. He was very bright but he had been failing the class when Charlie returned to teaching. Mark was nearly to the point of throwing in the towel and dropping the course. Charlie knew that would have been tragic for Mark's future and he would have had to change his major had he given up on the course completely.

After spending a few hours with the young student, he saw that light of comprehension in his eyes and Charlie knew that all this had been worth it. Mark had made a complete turnaround. The professor was proud of him and he had to admit that he was also proud of himself. Mark would go far in his life.

Charlie's phone rang and he knew without looking at it that is was Don calling about the case. He let voice mail get the call and returned to his notes.

After he and Mark had finished and were set another appointment for Friday evening, there was another student waiting at the door. As Chelsea was coming into the office, Charlie rose to greet her. He knew that Chelsea needed this math course but she did not seem to grasp the information and while it was a challenge he would normally welcome, she did not seem to be putting forth the needed effort.

Just as he was starting to talk to her, the door opened and the irate brother that Charlie has not even seen since the end of the child killer case, came into his office. Don asked the girl, "Could you please excuse us for a few minutes?" Charlie asked Chelsea to stay where she was but to open her notes to where they had left off last time and he would be back in a minute.

He walked out of the office and Don followed. Charlie knew that this could get loud and did not want any students who may still be around at this hour to overhear. He walked into the classroom and closed the door behind them.

Don's eyes were smoldering and Charlie was determined that he would remain calm. "Don, I'm sorry but as I tried to tell you yesterday I can't..."

The older brother again cut the younger one off. "Charlie, I thought I explained to you that I need your help with this case."

"Yes Don you did say that but the point remains that I do not have the time to spare right now."

"Oh, what's the big deal Charlie? You give some lectures, grade some tests. I'm sure you can make the time with more effort on your part."

"No Don, I can't. I have a job of my own and responsibilities that I have neglected in order to assist you with YOUR job. As a result, some of my students have been struggling and all of the extra time I've spend with them has still not made up for the time I missed while I was doing your job. I might remind you that not only did I put your work before my own but I also did not appreciate the treatment I received from you while working the case and ever since then. No Don, I will NOT help you with this case."

"What did you expect Charlie? A lot of kids died. We all worked hard on the case and we were all exhausted when it when it was over. The world does not revolve around you and if you were expecting a medal, sorry we disappointed you. After all it's not like you're an agent. You are a consultant, nothing more."

Charlie shook his head slowly and said "Yeah, nothing more. Excuse me, I have a student waiting for some assistance. She is likely to appreciate my time just a bit more."

He turned to leave and Don yanked him back by his arm. "Charlie." The irritation was clear in his voice.

Charlie pulled his arm out of his brother's grasp and said, "Keep your hands off me. Go find yourself another consultant." He started to walk away.

With more anger, Don again grasp Charlie by the left arm and Charlie made a fist and punched Don in the mouth. For a few seconds, they were both in shock, but Don recovered and balled up his own fist and punched Charlie.

The punch knocked Charlie off his feet and flat on his back. Don could not believe what just happened. "Charlie...I'm sorry..." He reached down to help the his brother up.

Charlie refused Don's hand and picked himself up and walked away from Don. His vision was blurred and he stumbled but caught himself right away. Don started to follow Charlie. Charlie turned and looked at him, with what Don could only call a defeated look and he said, "Look Don, after the semester is over I'm going away for a while. I would appreciate it if you would stay away for the few remaining weeks."

Charlie went back to his office and closed the door. He apologized to Chelsea and even though he was dizzy and his ears were ringing, he was able to go over some things with her and he hoped it would help her.

After she left, Charlie, gathered up his notes and headed to where he left his bike. Don's SUV was in the parking lot and Charlie ignored him. As he unlocked his bike, Don walked up to him. Charlie did not look at him and pulled the lock off.

"Charlie, I'm really sorry that I hit you, this case has us frustrated." Charlie knew that whatever he said to Don was not going to make any difference; Don simply did not hear him. So, Charlie did not say anything.

"Let's put your bike in the SUV and I'll give you a ride home,. We can talk tomorrow."

With a tired sign Charlie said, "Don, just go home, your home, and leave me alone."

The professor could see that he had busted Don's lip and he felt a twinge of regret but he also knew that he would most likely have a black eye in the morning, so the regret was short lived.

As Charlie slowly biked home, he took the time to think over what had happened with Don over the past several months and he knew that his decision was the right one. He loved his parents, he missed his mother terribly. But Don was the one person that Charlie had always looked for acceptance from. He had soaked up every bit of attention that Don had ever given him. But Charlie suspected that he was now and always had been a disappointment to his older brother.

Charlie knew he was not what Don would have wished for in a brother. When they were kids the younger brother had treated older one like a God, most days Don had treated Charlie like something he would scrap off of his shoes.

Charlie had thought that he and Don were finally getting closer after they started working on cases together. But Charlie had to wonder if he was blinded by his desire to have a close relationship with his brother and the possibility that maybe Don was just seeing the advantages of having a math genius help out with his cases who just happened to be his brother.

His mind drifted back a ways to the Sniper case and Charlie knew that that concern was no act. Don had truly been afraid for him. Could it be that maybe Special Agent Eppes was more afraid of losing his consultant than losing his brother. Charlie shook his head; No he did not believe that. Don was a protector by nature. He knew that his brother cared about him if for no other reason than he was his only sibling.

But Charlie knew it was time for him to grow up and break away from this hold that Don had on him. He knew that a close sibling relationship could never work if there was only one sibling making the effort.

Charlie had spoken to the dean that morning and he had also made some calls. He was actually looking forward to his future. Charlie parked his bike in the garage and headed into the house. The youngest Eppes was hoping for a chance to talk to the oldest one but saw that again his father was not home. He went to the refrigerator and took out some leftover lasagna. Charlie put it in the microwave and took his backpack upstairs to his room.

After eating some of his dad's famous lasagna, Charlie went to bed. The next two weeks would be busy ones and he needed to be as rested as he could.


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks for all the great reviews.

I don't know the Numb3rs characters, just borrowing them

Chapter 4

It was one of the worst black eyes he had ever seen. The inner area red, swollen but not swollen shut. It looked painful but surprisingly it hardly hurt his morning. Charlie was not looking forward to comments that would likely be coming his way and there was no hiding out until it got better. He encountered his dad in the kitchen. "What happened to you?"

"A brick wall." Charlie mumbled as he put some bread in the toaster for his breakfast. There were no appointments this morning since there was an early morning faculty meeting. He poured himself some orange juice and then buttered his toast.

"Do you want to talk about this brick wall? Charlie, I know finals are a stressful time but if that black eye came from a student, you have to report it."

"It wasn't a student. It's not important, please just let it go."

Alan knew Charlie did not intend to tell him about it directly. The trick to handling Charlie was getting him talking and it would come out in the conversation. Now, how to keep him in one spot long enough?

"Charlie how about if I make you some pancakes?"

"Uh, no thanks. I really don't much care for pancakes."

"Since when?"

"Dad, the toast is fine. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

Once he was seated and his father was looking at him, Charlie said "I'm going away for a while after the semester ends. I don't know how long I'll be gone or exactly what I'll be doing, but I did want to let you know of my plans. I will take care of setting aside an account for the household bills."

"Why now?" asked Alan.

Charlie thought about that for a minute and told his father "I need some time for myself." It really was the long the short of it. He did not have any exact plans, he only had a general idea at this point.

As he biked to school, he again thought about his current life and his future plans. He would need to talk to Larry. Amita was leaving and as much as he cared about her, he knew that there never was anything real between them and her leaving will be the best for her career.

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One look at Don's face and Megan stopped in her tracks. There was a bruise and a busted lip that looked pretty painful. He went to his desk and instead of asking the obvious, she asked if Charlie had any answers for them. "No Charlie will not be working on this case and it doesn't look like he will be working on any cases in the near future."

At her questioning glance, he then told her "I do not want to talk about Charlie."

"Just an observation Don, but you look like you've had a rough night. How about I get you some coffee?"

Don already tried to drink coffee this morning and he would prefer that if he made that attempt again today, that there not be any witnesses to it.

"No, thanks Megan, I'm fine."

"I can see that." Megan said and turned back to her desk.

Charlie had hit Don last night and that had never happened before. It was not that Don had not deserved it before with past incidents where he treated Charlie badly, especially in high school. But Charlie had never, not once raised his hand to him before. Now that he really thought about it, Don could not remember Charlie ever hitting anyone before. '_Not bad for your first time little brother'._

Don had been thinking about Charlie ever since he left the parking lot last night. He had treated Charlie badly during the last case, he had been short with most of the members of his team, but especially so with Charlie.

It was a fact that the man was behind bars and that Charlie was the sole reason they were able to catch him at all, but it just did not seem that it was good enough. Too many children had died while they were on the case and Don felt he and his team were responsible. He knew they had very little to go on but he still should have been able to stop the killer sooner.

He did not purposely blame Charlie. No one had taken any time away from the case during that time. It had been so hard to face each new parent though and admit that they were working on the case but did not have any answers for them. He hated that with his job he had to be the one to notify parents when the bodies were found.

Twenty-two dead children.

Twenty-two children abducted in populated areas.

Nineteen of them while he was in charge of the case.

Nineteen children dead that he should have been able to prevent.

If anyone saw anything at all it was so vague. Medium height male, medium build, light brown hair, the children did not seem to be in distress and nothing sent up red flags to the bystanders who did notice them together. The information was just not good enough. Having the DNA was only good enough to prosecute but first they had to find the killer.

The patterns for where the abductions would take place were hard to pinpoint since it seemed that the killer was focusing on all of the Los Angeles area and then unexpectedly a child was abducted in Riverside.

As it turned out the killer, James Andrews, had a sister in Riverside and was in the area to visit. The children were male and female, no common link other than all being white and all under ten years old. Andrews had no previous record, not so much as a traffic ticket and Don knew it was not Charlie's fault, not his team's fault that so many children had to die before Andrews was caught.

Prior to this case, his relationship with Charlie had been getting stronger. Stronger than it had been since Charlie was pre-school age and able to work junior high math. Don knew that he had to apologize to Charlie and set things right.

Charlie certainly had reasons for his anger. Of all of them, he knew that Charlie worked the hardest, pushed himself the most, taken very little time to sleep and nearly no time to eat. He had lost a shocking amount of weight from his already small frame. Charlie still looked so tired, still too thin, his clothes still baggy. He knew how rough it had been on Charlie in the past during finals and felt guilty that he had somehow lost site of Charlie's life outside of the FBI office.

He needed to talk to Charlie now. Don stopped by Megan's desk. In a low voice, so that he would not be overheard, Don said "Megan, I have to run back out for a while. I'll be back within an hour. Think you could cover for me that long?"

"Sure, no problem. I hope you're able to work out whatever problem you and Charlie are having."

"Thanks, I owe you one." As he was getting on the elevator, he decided that Megan was really was too smart for him to think he could hide something like this.

Don parked as close to Charlie's building as was possible for this time of the day and walked toward Charlie's classroom. There were students filing into the room but Charlie was not there. Walking to the door of Charlie's office he saw that is was opened. Charlie's back was faced toward Don and he heard the professor telling the young girl, "Tomorrow is completely booked up for me but if you can get here at five in the morning, I'll come in early and help you before my other early appointment."

The girl's face took on a look of immediate relief and she had a genuine smile. "Thank you so much Professor Eppes. I will be here and I really appreciate you taking the time to see me then."

She hurried out the door, probably late for her next class and Charlie turned back to his desk to pick up a folder of notes. As he turned back to the door, he stopped short when he saw Don standing there. His brother did not say a word to him, he was just looking at him. Charlie looked so completely worn out. And his eye…

Don could not believe the black eye that he had given his brother. It was not the worst he had seen but it had to hurt. "Charlie, I want to apol..."

Charlie cut him off. "Save it Don. I'm not interested in your apology or your excuses. I'm late for my class." Charlie and notes just brushed past Don and out the door.

For a few minutes, Don just stood rooted to the spot. He knew he deserved that, but it did not make it any easier to accept. Charlie had always been great about letting Don off the hook easy. He knew that now was not the time to talk to his overstressed younger brother and decided that this weekend he would meet with Charlie, they would have a long talk and he would give Charlie his apology and hope that it was accepted. Charlie had asked him to stay away and he would honor that request until the weekend.

As Don was driving back to his office, he called his dad and left a message on his answering machine to let him know he would be unable to make it for dinner tonight after all.

No one on the team dared to mention Don's bruised face or his unusually quiet self today. Early afternoon, he had the FBI fraud 'expert' working on the case. They had done all the interviews and questioning that they could and Don and his team were given a new case. while this one was being worked by the bureau 'expert'.

With the new case, Megan and Colby would be using the Bureau files to do their part of the investigation, while Don and David had to leave that evening and go undercover in Sacramento for a few days. He was told he should be able to come back to LA by Sunday.

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Charlie had been busy for the remainder of the week. There was one student after another in and out of his office. Students and professors alike were scrambling. Charlie knew that this week, he was not the only person on campus who was not getting any rest.

He had not seen his father during that time and he barely had a chance to talk to Larry about his plans after school was finished. They had gotten that chance because both had early morning appointments coming in and met in the teacher lounge.

"You look rather rumpled Charles. Sleep at your desk again?"

"I figured it could add at least an extra hour to how much sleep I would get, but I slept on the couch and not at my desk." Charlie was making some tea. "I already had one student in this morning. He was a little early and ended up being my wake up call. His knocking on my door sent me tumbling to the floor."

"Would that be how you got those interesting colors around your eye, fall on something?"

"No that's from a few days ago. Listen I have to run and meet my next student but I wanted to let you know that after finals are done, I am leaving for a while."

"Good idea Charles, you look as though you need a vacation."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Don's assignment in Sacramento for a few days turned out to be ten days. He had not talked to either his dad or Charlie during this time. When he got back it was late, he met with the rest of the team, filled them in and they began to gather the notes on the case. It was an ongoing investigation in Sacramento and due to the size of corporate involvement other local offices were also sending agents.

When they finished up for the night Don had considered calling Charlie's house. But it was late so he left along with the rest of his team and headed home. It had been a while since he spent any real time at his apartment and it felt too quiet now.

Don went to the refrigerator for a beer and considered how much he really needed to talk to Charlie. He missed him and wanted to set things right. It had just gone on too long and he was the only one to blame for it. Don may never understand his younger brother when it came to how his mind worked but there were things about Charlie that he had gotten to know about very well over his life.

Charlie looked up to him and while sometimes that was humbling, quite often it got to be overwhelming and it was too much pressure especially during their earlier years. Charlie was much more than just his genius IQ. He was a great brother and as he had found out since his return to LA, a good friend. He was not the least bit deceitful or spiteful. The guilt that Don had felt since the physical encounter he and Charlie had in his classroom the last time he saw Charlie was weighing heavy on his very soul.

The way he had treat his brother was unforgivable. Don knew that usually during finals Charlie was busy and as he had brought up, it was even more so this time due to his Leave of Absence.

He lay down on his couch to sleep for a few hours. He planned to be at Charlie's house bright and early in the morning.

Don slept a little longer than he had intended to and called Charlie's house when he was making his coffee.

"Hi Dad."

"You know Donnie; I had to find out from Megan that my own son was out of town."

I'm really sorry about that Dad, I was on a case. How did the dinner go with Pauline's family?"

"Well, there were a few problems. The food was great and nothing major was broken is about all that I can say that is positive. Those grandchildren of hers are nothing short of little terrors and I seemed to be the only one all night correcting them. The oldest two actually started a food fight before I escorted them both out to the patio with their plates and told them that this is where the animals eat."

Don laughed as he pictured the look on the kid's faces at this comment.

"I also figured out why she seemed to think having this dinner here rather than her place was such a great idea."

"Sorry it did not go well Dad, it makes my trip to Sacramento seem more of a Godsend now though. Hey is Charlie around?"

"No, he left early this morning for the airport."

Don was disappointed. He had hoped to catch up with Charlie before he left. "You know Dad, all he told me was that he was going away for a while after school was out."

"I have to tell you he wasn't very open with information Donnie. He took a shuttle, said he didn't want a ride. Charlie and I have not talked every much over the past few months and that was mainly due to the fact that Charlie was busy with first the case and finals, then grading papers, tying up loose ends and packing. I was busy with work and of course spending time with Pauline."

Don accepted an invitation to dinner that evening with his dad. He then tried to call Charlie and was surprised to find that his cell phone service had been disconnected.

At dinner, Don tried to get information on Charlie. Alan could not tell him much.

"Donnie, this is pretty much all I know, Charlie set up a new bank account that would pay the household utilities. He had closed his bank accounts including credit accounts and opened new ones. He also had arranged with the dean to be gone for a year from teaching. He told me that if something urgent happened I could contact him through Director Thompkins with NSA and gave me a phone number for him."

"Why did Charlie disconnect his cell service?" Don asked

"I didn't know that he had, he didn't mention anything at all about his cell. His flight was one way to Washington DC and the only reason I know that is because I got a quick look at his itinerary after he printed it out. He said he would keep in touch."

Don was surprised by all of this. "When he said he was going away for a while, I was thinking that he would be taking an extended vacation. This sounds pretty long-term. Maybe even permanent."

"You know, when Charlie and I talked about this trip, I didn't notice that he wasnt really giving me any details. In retrospect, he was more than a little vague with answers. He did assure me that Director Thompkins didn't contact him regarding long term work on any case; it was Charlie himself that initiated the trip.

Don left that evening frustrated over all of the unanswered questions. He felt guilty that he had not made everything right between him and Charlie before he left. Don hoped for a chance to talk to him soon. He told Alan if he heard from Charlie to ask him to please call, day or night.

On the flight to Washington, Charlie thought about how much better his students had done on finals then they would have without the time he had spent with them individually. Chelsea had really surprised him. She must have studied non stop after their last tutoring session and her score of one of the highest. Mark, as Charlie had expected had received the highest score though. A success story that he would always count as one of his finest teaching memories.

Charlie took the time to consider his future; would he return to LA? He wasn't sure. He knew that Director Robert Thompkins of the NSA was the one that would be able to assist him. They were friends and Charlie knew Bob would have input as far as what Charlie wanted to do.

Charlie had considered what he had done over his life and while Math was his passion, the rest of his life had been put on the back burner. He wanted to make some changes to himself and that meant he needed to expand his world beyond math. He told himself he was doing this for him, but had to wonder if he was not also doing this as a way to be more of the brother that Don had wanted from him.

Yes, math was his life and passion, but there had always been things Charlie had enjoyed outside of math - he wanted to do more and he knew that with some work, he could do more. Charlie did not necessarily feel that he was hiding from anyone else as he felt more that he needed to Not be Dr. Charles Eppes to make the changes he wanted in his life. Bob had always told him that he was needed with the NSA on a full time basis.

Charlie had purposely cut ties with his father and Don by changing cell phone services and giving his dad as little information as he could get by with. Having a brother in the FBI would make it impossible to be untraceable, but all he really wanted was time and space away from home and most especially Don and he knew Bob would do what he could to assist him. Charlie had to smile to himself, if he had told Bob he wanted to hide out from his family, Bob would see that no one, not even the FBI, could find the slightest link to Dr. Charles Eppes.

On this trip he would be Dr. Charles Eppes, Mathematician and Consultant when he needed to be. But he intended to be Charlie Eppes, normal citizen as much as he could.

Robert Thompkins had mentioned that he would like Charlie to work on a new security system for the military bases in the United States. It was Charlie's idea that he relocate to Washington D.C. to work on this system now. It would give him the time away he needed so that he could make some decisions as well as it would be easier to learn the system already in place.

After his plane landed, Charlie took out his new phone and put in a call to Director Thompkins. The Director had said he would handle it when Charlie has inquired about an apartment in the area. Bob told him that he had plenty of room at his house for him and that he would love it if he stayed there. The young man was feeling a streak of independence he had not felt before and insisted that he wanted his own apartment and if it were possible he would like to be near hiking trails.

Bob gave him the address of the apartment that was rented for Charlie and the manager's name. He informed his young friend that the rental and utilities were all to be paid for by the NSA and was actually listed under a government name. The manager would not even be asking for Charlie's name or information. So much for the independent streak.

The highlight of the conversation being that he would be very close to a great park that had hiking and biking trails.

Charlie gave the address to the cab driver and watched the sites during the drive. He had been to Washington DC many times over the years of course but he had rarely paid attention to the scenery.

The cab pulled up in front of a large six story apartment building. Charlie had only brought two suitcases and his backpack containing his laptop. There was an agent waiting outside the building for him and gave him the key to the secured front door, along with a key to the apartment, number 602. Charlie thanked the agent and once through the security door, he took the elevator to the top floor.

Charlie was amazed as how spacious and completely furnished it was, right down to the toilet paper and even food in the pantry and veggies in the refrigerator. Somehow, this is not how he thought it worked in the real world. Oh well, there would be plenty of time to be independent eventually.

Charlie opened the drapes in front of the large living room window and he saw that he had an excellent view of that great park that Bob had mentioned. He chuckled to himself. It looked as though this rental was obtained with careful thought and planning rather than a quick phone call as Charlie has assumed. Bob really was a great friend to have.

Charlie unpacked his clothes, toiletry items and a few photos that he had brought with him. Before he headed back outside to catch a cab, he stopped and introduced himself to the apartment manager.

Aaron Dodds was a little surprised that the new resident from the sixth floor was here in the office. Usually the government rentals were rarely seen and never came in to talk. He liked Charlie Eppes' friendly smile and firm handshake. The tired looking young man with the long and rather windblown curls was here for information.

"I hear there are some good hiking trails in the park that I have the great view of. What else can you tell me about it?"

"Yes sir, the Rock Creek Park is famous for the hiking trails. There are also paved trails for biking or skating. The Park is one of the oldest in the country and most people are surprised to find a park of this size in DC itself."

"That's great; I look forward to exploring the trails. I plan to stay active during my free time while I am here."

"Then you will be interested to know that we have a rooftop pool, along with an indoor pool and a fitness room if you would like to work out. The equipment is all top of the line."

Bob had really gone all out here. "Thank you Aaron for your time and I will be sure to check those as well."

Charlie went out the front of the building and had planned to hail a cab, when a limo driver approached him. '_Bob, we really will be having a talk about my fast disappearing independence'_.

"Dr. Eppes?" At Charlie's nod, the driver introduced himself. "Sir, I am Brian McMillen and I have been assigned as your driver for your stay here in DC."

"Brian, please call me Charlie and I will consent to your being my driver for today, but I do not intend to have a limo service for my stay here."

Brian opened the door and Charlie got into the back seat.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dr. Eppes had been to Director Thompkins office many times and he saw a lot of familiar faces. The secretary was a motherly type woman who Charlie thought the world of. Diane Conway was married to an NSA agent who had died the year before from a heart attack. She was not very tall but she had a giant presence about her.

When she saw young Dr. Eppes heading in her direction, a smile broke out on her face and she left her chair to meet him before he could even get to her desk. She hugged him and he returned the embrace.

"Charles Eppes, you have gotten too thin and you look so tired. Don't those people take care of you in California?"

"Hello Diane. I am pretty much old enough now to take care of myself. You are still thinking of me as the sixteen year old kid I was when I first met you. I am twenty-seven years old now you know."

"She patted his cheek and said "Still a baby to me Charlie. Director Thompkins is expecting you of course so you can go on in. I am really happy that you will be spending more time here during this trip. You never seemed to stay around long enough in the past."

"Charlie!" Bob was very enthusiastic about welcoming Charlie. He came around the front of his desk and shook Charlie's hand. "I was a little surprised with your request to take up temporary residence here in DC but I cannot say I am at all unhappy with that decision. How have you been Charlie?"

Charlie smiled at Bob as he plopped himself down in the chair opposite the Director's rather large and very tidy desk. Charlie noted there was not a file to be found anywhere in plain site. Bob set back down behind his desk.

"Finals Bob, you know how I get during finals."

"That means you need some R & R Charlie, not more work, different scenery. That program we spoke of did not need to be started for a few more months, pushing up the time is not a problem. But what are you running away from?" With a small smile he asked "Hiding from the law?"

Charlie had to give a small laugh at his friend's observations.

"Okay Bob, you got me, one FBI agent and one slightly overbearing father may have something to do with my coming here now." With a serious expression he added "You know it is scary how much you seem to know about me".

"That's why I get to be Director, Charlie. Not much gets by me. Before we even talk about the security system that you will be working on, I want to hear more about why you look like you have spent the last six months of your life in a concentration camp. Were the overworked professors of Cal Sci staging a hunger strike that I missed news reports of?"

Charlie really did laugh then. It was the first time he had really laughed in so long he could not remember. He was having a hard time picturing Larry on a hunger strike and pitching the terms to the public and media.

"No nothing like that Bob. It was the child killer case that I was helping Don with and then finals right on the heels of closing that case. A lot of stress and not enough time in between. But I am fine now."

"Well, I have to disagree with you there. I will give you the notes on what this new security system should do as opposed to what the one in place is doing now. But, all I want you to do with those notes between now and next Monday is reading them at your leisure. What I insist you do is take the remainder of the time to do nothing but sleep, eat and relax."

Charlie looked like he wanted to argue. The last thing he wanted was time for him to think over what had been going on in his life.

"Charlie the one thing you mentioned on the phone was that you wanted to make some changes in the way you were living your life and unless you meant DC as opposed to LA, now is the perfect time to work on those. Now how about you run a few ideas by me and we can see if there is something that I can do either as your friend or as someone with some influence should you need it".

"Okay Bob, but only as my friend. Nothing drastic enough to require assistance from the government. This is years overdue, but I want to do more with my life than numbers. Everything I do, everything I am all comes back to math. There is a lot out there that I have missed out on because I focus my whole being on math. I spent a lot of my younger years not being able to focus on anything else. That has changed over the years and now, while I do have control over thinking of and doing other things, I really haven't **done** anything else" He paused and wandered if what he had just said made sense to a man who would not really understand what it meant to have little control over where your thoughts were.

" I think I am following you Charlie, but I have to ask if you mean in your professional life or are you referring to personal changes?"

"Most likely just personal, I can't imagine getting the same satisfaction from another career than I get from teaching. One thing I really want from my life is to be more self-reliant. I have never really had to take care of myself before. There was always someone there for me if I was not doing all that was needed. I love having my father living there, I like having family and friends around. I don't necessary mean living alone as much as I mean being able to depend on myself more. I came to get away, that's true but I also wanted this time to work on the changes I need."

"While we are on the subject of my learning how to take care of myself, I want to bring up a few things that are not helping me here. Not that I am not appreciative, I am, but I am pretty sure I could have managed the grocery shopping on my own."

It was Bob's turn to laugh out loud at that one. "You know, I told Diane that was not a good idea but she wanted to do this. She said that she thinks of you as the son she never had and I don't think there was any way I could have stopped her short of a direct order and I have a suspicion she would have risked insubordination charges and done it anyway. So, you are on your own with Diane and her mothering instinct."

Well Charlie supposed he would be able to deal with some mothering from Diane. She had been a good friend to his own mother and maybe she could not help but feel she should be filling in for the now absent mother.

At that second a light came on in Charlie's head, Charlie knew exactly what he was looking to change. The illusive IT that he had been trying to put in to words was narrowed down to one word. Don. But, now that he knew, he would have to use the time later to think about what that meant for him.

"Well, one thing you can do is call off the limo driver. I intend to make getting my drivers license my first priority. Then, I will be looking for a car."

"Okay Charlie, but you have no doubt heard the horror stories of the DC roads so, anytime you change your mind, just let me know."

"I won't Bob, but thanks again. If the traffic is too bad, it is not too far that I can't ride a bike here".

That comment had given Bob an idea. He snapped his fingers and said "that's it".

At Charlie's startled look Bob said, "I know what would be prefect for you Charlie. On Monday morning you report to the NSA training class that we have starting up. You can decide which of the programs you do or do not want to train in, but one thing for sure, it is physical, as well as mental and there is a lot that you can learn and experience in these classes. The agent recruits are required to get into shape, and while I think the physical training would go a long way in helping you with your goals, you will not be participating in the long term or endurance hard physical training."

Charlie was surprised as just how appealing that sounded to him.

At his interested look, Bob continued. "I have always told you that you have a permanent position anytime you chose with the NSA and you would not have to go to the recruit classes to do this. You more than qualify on your background as it stands."

"The training classes offer physical training of course and while it is like having your own personal trainer, you will not be required to reach any goals other than what you set for yourself. I hope I have made it clear that you will not be required to do any of it at all. Just go to the training class on Monday. It is more of an orientation and introduction. Any and all programs you are interested in, you need only show up, drop them if you decide and we can work the security program around any schedule you decide on. The training personal are best in the country and I can't see anything but good coming out of this for you."

This certainly seemed like a step in the right direction. Certainly not one he would have thought even applied to him but as Bob stated, he could drop them if it wasn't working.

"Thanks Bob, I intend to be at that class Monday. You have given me some real ways to set some goals." '_or at least to fill the hours and not think about home so much' _"I want you to know I really appreciate it."

"Glad I could help Charlie, now might I suggest that you make your goal this week catching up on sleep, putting back on some of that missing weight and enjoying your time off?"

Charlie smiled and said "That is a goal I can live with."

"Good, now on your way out Diane can give you the when and wheres of the class. After the first class, attend when you want and as I really want to stress again, nothing about any of the training is mandatory for you. After the class finishes on Monday, you can come back up here and we can work on getting started on that security system. I have some idea for the team you will be working with but the original design will need to be yours alone and once it is configured, you can train the others on what to do."

"Now go and get some food and sleep and enjoy your week. I will call off Brian, who is my favorite limo driver by the way, but you be sure to let me know if you change your mind."

Charlie felt like a major weight had been lifted from him and he was all smiles as he stopped at Diane's desk for the training class information.

Diane went to a filing cabinet to get out the needed paperwork. She really was not surprised that Charlie was interested in joining some of the classes. For as long as she had known him Charlie had been a scholastic sponge and since he would he in the area for an extended amount of time, it made sense that he would want to not only work on the new program, but also to continue learning.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry it is moving a little slow here - Charlie needs a life in DC. But Don and Alan will be back soon

I don't own the Numb3rs characters, Just borrowing them

Chapter 7

After Brian dropped Charlie off, he went back to his apartment. Before he did anything else, he knew he should eat something and went to check on what Diane thought his diet should consist of. There was a lot of fruits and veggies and he was pretty sure most of it would spoil before he could eat it. He made a fruit salad and had a bottle of water while he started looking through the papers for the training class.

The over all size of the class was large at usual amounts of 60 - 80 agent recruits. For the most part this group would be split up into very small groups for most of the classes, other than the physical fitness training.

Some of those classes, Charlie knew he would not need or have any interest in. He was surprised at the amount of classes that fell under the category of math, but he knew he was staying away from those. He was mainly interested in the physical classes. Even though he had not done much physical activity in his life, he had enjoyed them when he had. He had not taken any organized physical class since high school. Don taught him to play basketball when he were really young and he always enjoyed a game when they had time together. He took to hiking trails whenever he could get away long enough and of course he biked everyday. So, he was not completely out of shape.

There was weight training and he knew he would attend that one. One that he was giving serious thought to was the gun training. He did not know if he would ever need it but it might be a good idea to check into it as well. The Martial Arts class was one he was also interested in. The rest of the classes just did not apply to a civilian for the most part. There were prisoner handling classes and terrorist training, and plenty of classes that dealt with the legal and courthouse procedures that an agent would need but not a professor.

Charlie slept in the next day and he woke up feeling rested. The first thing he did was make himself eat. After he at he washed up the few dishes, showered, dressed in his faded blue jeans, a Cal Sci t-shirt, his hiking boots and grabbed a long sleeve shirt and a bottle of water and set off for the park to check out the trails.

While on his hike, Charlie considered the thought that came to him yesterday in Bob's office. Charlie had finally figured out what he had been searching for. It was not a particularly satisfying knowledge, but at least he found the answer. Charlie did not know if he was looking for the acceptance from himself that he had been unable to earn from his brother for nearly all of his life. Charlie thought it was possible he needed to build up his self esteem so that that lack of acceptance from Don would in no way impact his life. He knew that it had brought his own world crashing down too many times before. When he had thought back to that one night that he decided that he needed to grow up and get away from the hold that Don had over him, he realized now that the hold was Charlie's dire need for acceptance from not just anyone, but from the one person that Charlie had admitted to himself, was the most important person in his life. Don.

Charlie was proud of what he had accomplished in his life. He was happy that he was able to use his gift to help others, mainly his students, but the government as well. A lot of people go through life just hoping that they had made a difference and Charlie knew that he had. Some on smaller scales than others, but a difference just the same. Self-acceptance itself was not the issue, maybe even self esteem was not the real issue. Charlie knew that he needed to shift that power from Don. He needed to face the fact that maybe Don would never be proud of him, but Charlie needed to get to a point where that was not the top priority of his life that he had made it.

Would time away do that? Could being more active take up too much of his time to even think about it? Could making a few changes in his personal life make up for that need? Would Charlie have to stay on the opposite side of the country to take that power from Don? Charlie didn't have the answers to this so he made the firm decision that doing other things with his life that did not involve numbers would at least give his brain another direction and another direction right now seemed the perfect place to find some answers.

He spent most of the day on the trails and he although he usually liked steeper terrain, he knew he would be spending a lot of time hiking in this park. When he got back to his apartment he made a sandwhich and called Diane. Much as he did not want to take advantage of her good nature, the fact was he could not buy or rent a car without a license and he could not get a license without a car.

Diane was only too willing to help out. She said that she would come over first thing in the morning and they could go to the DMV and get his license.

After hanging up Charlie changed and headed up to the roof to check out the pool. It was surprisingly large and completely deserted. He dived in and started on some laps. He was not sure if it was his loss of weight, weak upper body strength or inactivity on his part but three laps was all he could manage. It was probably a little bit of all three and he decided that he would try to work on that everyday if there was time.

When he was back into the apartment and had changed, he stated reading over the file that Bob had given him. There was going to be a lot of changes made to the security system. He knew that the present system had only been in place since the 911 attacks but Charlie was surprised at how lacking the system really was.

He took out some paper and started working some equations. It would take longer than he originally thought just to design the new system. The training of it to the agents on the team would take longer as well. He worked late into the night and finally had some definite ideas for when he met with Bob on Monday.

----------------------------

Diane was there early as promised.

On the way to the DMV Charlie took the time to catch up on Diane's family. "How is your daughter doing? I haven't seen her since last year."

She's doing great Charlie and grandchild number two is due around Labor Day."

"That's great. Bet you are hoping for a boy this time?"

"As of you have to ask."

"I would really like to see her while I'm here and that cute little granddaughter too. Kylie must be about three now?"

"She turns three first part of July. Just a bit on the spoiled side so I'm not sure how well she will handle a new baby."

"She'll be fine, adapting is easy when you're a kid."

"Charlie, how come you didn't get your license years ago?"

"There are a few reasons for that Diane, It did not do too well with just my permit and Dad and Don seemed a little reluctant to let me try again after a few minor problems."

At Diane's worried look, Charlie told her that he does know how to drive and really does very well as long as Don or his Dad were not yelling at him to pay attention.

Charlie aced the test, not that he was surprised by this. He was used to acing tests.

Diane said that he knew a car dealer that would probably give him a good deal. Charlie would not be financing so he did not expect a big problem with the dealers.

While Charlie saw some great sport cars he would have loved to buy he settled on the Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Diane told Charlie to enjoy his new car, gave him a map so that he could find his way back to the apartment and the office and told him to enjoy his day getting used to his new car. She also warned he should avoid the outskirts of town during rush hour wherever possible.

That night after Charlie struggled through four laps of the pool, he sat with his cell phone in his hand. He was missing home and just wanted to hear either his dad's or even Don's voice. He opted for calling home, but hung up when the answering machine came on.

Charlie got a glass of orange juice and headed back up to the pool to just sit by the side and enjoy the night air.

He leaned his head back and gazed up at the stars, he knew having too much time on his hands was a bad idea. He wished that Don was sitting in the chair next to him and it was like it had been prior the case, that they could talk.

He regretted that he had left without talking to Don. At the very least to apologize for the busted lip. Charlie did not think he had it in him to ever hit anyone, much less his older brother. At the time, he did not think he had any choice and he had felt backed into a corner. As he felt the sadness rush over him, he knew he had to do something to stay active. He went back to the apartment and got some sweats on and went looking for that gym with that 'top of the line equipment'.

With a little help from another resident that was rushing past, Charlie found the work out room off the pool on the first floor. It was huge. There were a few people working on the various equipment. It was a little overwhelming and he had to admit he did not know how to use half of it. He decided on the treadmill and set it at a decent incline and a fairy slow pace.

Once he stepped on, he felt some relief from his stress. He walked and then changed the speed to a bit faster and the incline slightly more and it was soon going at a pretty good pace. Charlie was on the treadmill for more than a half hour without even knowing that the time had been passing by. He set it for higher incline, but now he was running. This workout more than had the perfect results. He found the strenuous run to be soothing to his body and his nerves. He thought this to be the perfect exercise for him. His mind did not have the energy to wander. He felt in tuned with his body and not at all in tuned with numbers or even the time.

Once he slowed himself to a walk and then stepped off the machine, he felt better than he had physically and mentally since he couldn't remember when.

He looked around and was surprised to see that nearly everyone had left and the only other person in the room was a woman who was working with some small weights near the back of the room.

Charlie thought another swim sounded good but just decided that a shower would work as well. As he headed to the door, the woman from the back of the room said "aren't you going to do some cooling down exercises?" Charlie really had no idea what she was talking about.

She was looking at him as though he were a high school kid who had just been caught skipping school.

"Sorry, I am not sure what cooling down exercises are."

"Well, trust me if you don't figure it out soon, you're going to be unable to walk after those kind of workouts."At his confused look, she said "here, let me show you". The woman showed him stretches for his lower body and soon they were both stretching out muscles.

"You will find that you are a lot less sore if you stretch out the muscles when you finish with any workout."

"Thanks, I probably would not have even thought of that on my own. I'm Charlie." He reached out his hand to her.

"Leslie, nice to meet you Charlie. You must be new in the building, I've never seen you here before."

"I've only been here for three days and this is my first time in this room. I had to check out the top of the line equipment and I really do have to agree with Aaron, at least about that particular treadmill."

"You're a runner than?"

"Not before tonight, but I believe I have been converted."

She smiled at him suddenly, "believe me, it can all be addicting. I've worked on most of this equipment and I come in here at least five nights a week for my fix."

"So, what do you do when you are not working out Leslie?"

"As little as possible but I am an agent in my professional life."

Charlie was a little surprised, small world he thought. "FBI?"

"CIA" she answered.

Not as small as he first feared.

"What about you, new to town then?"

"Yes, I am a consultant with the NSA and live in LA. I am here for a long-term project."

"Well good; then I expect we will be seeing more of each other. No strings attached, but would you like to come to my apartment for a blended smoothie?"

"Sounds perfect Leslie"

Leslie's apartment was on the third floor and it was tidy and had a county home feel to it.

"You a country girl?"

"Born and bred in Texas, but I left there years ago. My stepfather was in the Navy and I moved around a lot. But, Texas still feels like home whenever I can get down there. What do you do when you are not consulting?" Leslie took strawberries out of the refrigerator to clean.

"I am a Math Professor at Cal Sci in Pasadena. I came out just as soon as finals were graded."

Charlie watched as Leslie added bananas and some soy milk to the blender and turned it on. She poured him one and waited expectedly while he tried it. It was good and it had been a long time since he had drank any kind of smoothie.

"This is great."

"Thanks, I usually drink something blended after I come back home from the gym.

"So you have family back in Texas then?"

"Just my grandparents and an uncle now. The others are scattered all over. My mother and step father are retired now and living not too far away in Maryland. I have two brothers, one is in Florida, he's coast guard and the other is in Chicago."

"What about you Charlie, what family do you have?"

"My mother died two years ago. My father's retired and I have a brother. We're all in the LA area. Leslie, have you checked out the hiking trails in the park?"

"I love those trails Maybe we can go this weekend. I only have to report in one weekend a month under normal conditions and this is not my weekend for that."

"I was there yesterday and the trails are great." Charlie finished up his drink.

"Thanks Leslie, I'm in apartment 602. I look forward to tackling the trails with you Saturday?"

"Saturday will be fine Charlie. Good night."

Charlie rode the elevator back up to his room. He felt a lot more relaxed than he had earlier.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N I don't own the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 8

The next day, Charlie first went to a rather chilly morning swim then after changing he spent a few hours on the hiking trails. After getting directions from Aaron Charlie headed out for the mall. He needed to buy more work out clothes and some sneakers better built for running. He also decided to get a blender. Charlie knew how to use up that fruit that Diane had bought him. One last stop for a Father's day card that was fast approaching and he headed back to his apartment.

After putting away his new clothes, he blended up a smoothie. There was skim milk instead of soy but it tasted fine to him. Charlie wanted to call home and was trying to talk himself out of it. He missed his dad and Don. He decided he would give it a few days and changed and headed back to his favorite piece of work out equipment.

Charlie started out pretty much as he had the previous evening. Slow and slightly inclined and again worked his way up. The time flew by and the more he ran, the better he felt. He noticed it had been over an hour when he finally stopped and began the cool down stretches that Leslie had showed him.

That evening Charlie began work on his lap top using the equations that he had been working on.

The next morning, Leslie knocked on his door and Charlie was ready to go when she got there. He invited her in while he was putting on his hiking boots. They left and enjoyed a fast paced hike.

Charlie enjoyed Leslie's company. She was probably near his own age with honey colored hair and gray eyes. She was in top physical condition. Charlie knew he was rather scrawny in comparison but they had a great time together.

They sent out for pizza that evening and watched an old movie before Charlie went back to his apartment.

Sunday, he went shopping and bought a new bike and helmet. The bike trails in the park looked pretty good and he thought he would give them a try. He rode for twelve miles on the trails before calling it a day. The manager had shown Charlie a shed in the back of the building where he could store the bike.

After he ate a salad for lunch, he headed up to the roof for his laps. There were two other people in the pool area, but none in the water just now. He dived in a started his laps. He found that he could do seven laps easily and decided to stop there rather than push his luck.

When he went back into his apartment, he thought now would be a good time to call his dad and would keep the call short and simple. Charlie dialed the number on his cell phone and when someone picked up the phone it sounded like it was Pauline. He did not want to do this right now after all and hung up. Charlie had only had that one disastrous encounter with Pauline and he had not seen her after that. He did not know if he would feel differently about her if he had met her under other circumstances but he really did not like her.

He was feeling tense again. He headed to the first floor and to the gym. Once he climbed on the treadmill, he started to feel better. He ran for over an hour again before he stopped and did the cool downs.

Charlie did his laundry and turned on the TV. There really was not anything on that he was interested in watching. He never was much on TV anyway, but the noise helped with the empty feel of the apartment.

Charlie got to bed early that evening so that he could be at the training class on time at seven.

He was early. The main instructor was Agent Troy Belmont. Charlie liked him right away. He was afraid he may have problems from students and instructors given the situation of his training. Agent Belmont asked about Charlie's interests and goals. He was rather surprised that the majority of the interests that Charlie had mentioned where physical. Charlie was a bit on the small side, but they had trained smaller men and that was not an obstacle after time. Charlie has told him that running was his favorite physical activity but that it was a new found interest so he was not sure of his endurance yet.

The other students began filling the chairs. There were sixty-three students starting this training today. Agent Belmont told them the first thing that was needed were physicals and they had until the end of the week. The physicals could be done here on the grounds. No one was allowed to participate in any strenuous activity without it.

Next, courses were chosen and interests discussed as a group. The martial arts training was Tae Kwon Do. It was a fairly new training for the NSA. Formally they have been using Japanese martial arts but found greater success with this Korean training.

Charlie signed up for the Tae Kwon Do course which would be every afternoon from four until five, after the physical of course. Charlie also signed up for the weight training at six p.m. and the running courses. Since he was told by Agent Belmont in no uncertain terms that he could not go for the endurance running, mostly he would he on his own in whatever setting they chose. But, that suited Charlie just fine. He would run while the rest of the trainees basically ran till they dropped. The running was first thing in the mornings and usually involved a van ride to different areas.

He signed up for one other course now. Gun training. This was one that he was not sure he would want to continue. Don had taken him to target practice, but he had not wanted to return after the one time.

The gun class was a five pm class. He had to admit in fit into the empty time slot perfectly. It looked like that would give him plenty of time to work on the security project.

Charlie made his appointment for the physical for the following afternoon. He then left the training room and headed up for Bob's office.

Again Diane had a ready smile for Charlie. "How is my favorite professor enjoying his time in DC?"

Charlie laughed and said "I am having a great time. The training will start after I pass the physical and I am looking forward to it."

"Hey Charlie how about coming over on Sunday for brunch. I would love to have you and I invited my daughter, son-in-law and little Kylie cannot wait to see you. She doesn't remember you but she has heard a lot from me and her parents. Emily is making her famous cherry pie in your honor."

"That sounds great Diane, I'll be there. What time?"

"About noon is good."

Charlie really enjoyed being around Diane's family. Her husband, Ben had been a good friend to him, he had also been Bob's best friend for years. Emily was a sweetheart and once upon a time she had a little crush on poor, shy Charlie. There were great friends after she got over the crush and he could talk to her without turning beet red. Emily's husband was also a government worker although Charlie did not know what agency he was with. He had only seen Tom on two occasions. One was the wedding and the other was Ben's funeral. Whenever he saw Emily at other times, Tom was usually away.

When Charlie went into Bob's office. Bob had a smile on his face. "Looking much better Charlie. I see you got some rest and have some color in you now. Still too thin though. Didn't Diane buy any good old fashioned junk food?"

"I'm working on it Bob, give me time."

"I hear you finally took the plunge and bought a car. Congratulations. You always remember your first car with fondness."

Charlie laughed. "I actually wanted a sports car but I would hate to part with it when I leave DC so this one is what I am using while I am here and I really don't think I will form a sentimental attachment."

"You never know son, and you could certainly store the car at my place. I have a large parking garage at home."

"I hadn't thought of storing it, but it makes sense considering how often I get to DC."

"So, what did you think of the training class this morning?"

"I think Bob, that you are a life saver. I signed up for the running course, the weight training, Tae Kwon Do and believe it or not, the gun class."

"Well, the Tae Kwon Do and weight training does not surprise me but you remember my rules on the running I hope."

"I was already informed by Agent Belmont that the only thing that I was allowed to participate with the running was the van ride to whatever location we are going to that day. But, I have recently discovered that running is great for my mental health and keeps me away from a chalk board. I have a gym in the apartment building and am slowly becoming addicted to what I have been told is a top of the line treadmill. So, just running different courses and be back to the van on time not to get left behind suits me just fine. Before you bring up the gun class, let me just say I am very unsure whether I will stick with this one. But, I do want to at least get through the gun safety part that is the first part of training."

"Great Charlie, I hope this helps you with the changes you wanted to make."

"I know it will and can't thank you enough for thinking up the idea.I should have gotten more into physical activities years ago."

"Now, do you have any thoughts on the notes I sent home with you."

"Better than that, I have ideas and have been working on some notes."

For the next two hours, Charlie discussed his ideas and plans with Bob. Bob was amazed that Charlie had come up with so many solutions so fast and it was a little disturbing when Charlie informed him that the security system already in place was seriously lacking. The system was not only not good enough but the training for the military personnel on the bases was inadequate. They needed to spend more time training and it should be with Charlie himself, or one of the team that he would be training. Training one officer from each base and then thinking that officer was ready to set up the system and then train the enlisted personnel was not going to be good enough to ensure it was done properly.

Bob and Charlie decided that he would need at least six members on his team to train and he would need at least one assistant for the administration and to help with learning materials. Bob told him that there was a room on the second floor set aside for this and he would see about the assistant from the clerical staff already in place. It was important the assistant also be someone that could be trusted beyond any doubt. The problem with this was that the clerical staff had always been on a need to know and the clearance levels were low, finding someone to fit the bill with high security clearance would not be easy. Bob said he would have Diane work on that. He would also ask Diane to see to it that two chalk boards were set up in the room.

Charlie could start in his new "office" tomorrow morning. His physical was at 1:00 and if he received the doctor okay, he could start his Tae Kwon Do tomorrow at four o'clock, gun training at five and weight training at six.

Bob had invited Charlie to lunch the next day. He swore he would fatten him up good and proper for the physical.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N To Imbreena and anyone else, this will not be a Charlie/Leslie romance. I don't read romance and it's just a guess but I don't think I could write one if I tried. **

**I'm posting this chapter earlier than I had planned. luvnumb3rs was my motivation to post it today instead of tomorrow. I do not own the Numb3rs characters. I just borrowed them.**

**Chapter 9**

**When Charlie got back to his apartment he changed into his swimming trunks, ate an energy bar and headed for the roof. Charlie's goal was nine laps today and he easily reached that.**

**After the swim, he laid down on one of the lounge chairs to dry off. Charlie immediately thought of home and how much he missed his father and brother. It had been a productive week for his mind and his body. But, it seemed every time he slowed down he would get homesick. Charlie went back to his apartment and changed to some sweatpants and a tee-shit and headed to the gym for his run.**

* * *

**Don was sitting at his desk and staring off into space again when Megan passed in front of his line of vision. He had so many questions, the answers all came from his imagination. **

**What was Charlie doing? Would he come back? Had the damage Don done to their relationship caused a permanent separation from his brother? It struck him as ironic that it took Charlie running away for Don to realize how important he had been in his life. Charlie had always been there. Don was the one that had a bit of wanderlust for a while and when he came home Charlie was here, where he should be. Don was fairly certain that his brother was not in any danger, but he felt a need to find out at least some information. Why didn't he at least call Dad? Charlie must know that Dad missed him and would want to hear from him.**

**Megan stopped right in front of him. "Don, are you even in this room?"**

**"What? Oh, I'm sorry Megan. I was just thinking about Charlie."**

"**You know, you haven't said anything about Charlie to us. I know the two of you fought before you went to Sacramento. Do you want to talk about it? Did Charlie leave because of that fight? All you seem to say is that 'Charlie is gone'. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But, I'm here if you do need someone to listen."**

**"I don't know Megan. I'm not sure you would be a good one to talk with about this. Trust me when I say that the way I treated Charlie before he left was probably worse than you could imagine. I still haven't figured out for sure why I acted that way."**

**"Try me. I am an excellent listener and I promise to at least try not to judge you."**

**"Okay, but you better be remembering that promise after I tell you all of it and I would strongly suggest that you not hit your boss." She laughed.**

**"I'm completely serious here. I do need to talk about this and you may be the one that can help me see WHY I was such a jerk to my brother."**

**"Hey Don, Let's take a walk outside. More privacy that way."**

**They got on the elevator and since there was another agent there, neither said anything.**

**When they walked outside, Don started to talk. "I never realized how important Charlie was to me before. When we were kids he was the genius, annoying little brother who was always following me around. I didn't mind it so much at first especially if my friends were not around. But when we were in high school, he was nothing but annoying. A few of my teachers just loved adorable little Charlie who was always the top student in most every class.**

**It got to the point where I hated being around Charlie and the really saddest part of all was that looking back on it, Charlie was more like that wounded little dog that is kicked constantly but keeps going back to his owner. I don't mean I hit him or anything, but I was really mean to him."**

**They found a bench and sat down. Megan waited for Don to continue.**

**"I would never let anyone physically hurt Charlie but the mental abuse he had to put up with the other kids had to be rough. What I think was the worst though was how I treated him. Poor little guy, you know I can still see the crushed look on his face when I screamed at him in the hallway at school to get away from me. I've carried that look around with me and I still see it whenever I start to lose my patience with Charlie and his math talk. It keeps me in line now. I may not have a clue what he is talking about but I let him say it and I'll even ask questions if even one of those things he says connects with something in my brain.**

**I know Charlie's mind is amazing and it look me a long time to really appreciate what he can do with it. During our college years, I barely had any contact with Charlie and that was just fine with me. It wasn't until after Mom died that I even took the chance to really get to know anything about Charlie. I missed an awful lot of years with him. I think it took working with him here to even have any real respect for him as a person and then I shot that down with the last case he worked on."**

**Megan knew letting Don talk it all out without interruption could get him to the real issue and she listened.**

**"I don't exactly know why I blamed Charlie. I mean I blamed myself too. I was in charge of the case. Charlie may be smart but we just didn't have any clues. Why did I take it out on him, even though I was constantly telling myself, it wasn't Charlie's fault? I really knew it wasn't.**

"**When it was all over, I completely shut him out. And then what did I do? I called him when I needed his help again. But Charlie was no longer that kicked little dog waiting for a chance for attention again. Consciously I knew that Charlie had wore himself down with no sleep and all that stress. Then he had to jump right back into teaching when finals are coming up. And I know how rough finals are on him at the best of times. I am surprised he didn't keel over dead from all the stress and not even having the time to take care of himself.**

**"So, I know all this and then I got mad when he told me no. I mean I truly expected him to drop what he was doing and rush to help me. It wasn't even his telling me no, I was acting like he did not even have the right to tell me no."**

**Megan, who had been quiet and was absorbing the details asked quietly "Is that when he hit you?"**

**"Yeah it is. He had tried to tell me no on the phone and I wasn't listening, so I went to his office and of course he had a student there. We went to his classroom and that's where the confrontation took place. Twice he tried to walk away from me and both times I physically stopped him. I have to admit, I deserved that punch in the mouth. But the worst of all of it was that I hit him back."**

**At Megan's gasp, Don ducked his head in shame. "I have never seen Charlie look so completely defeated as he did when he picked himself up and walked away from me." There were tears in Don's eyes now. "I knew that something died in Charlie then. I felt it with my whole being and I was the one that killed it."**

**Don wiped at his eyes, a little ashamed to be losing control in front of his co-worker. "I have never been more ashamed of my actions as I was that night. The next day, when I left work to talk to Charlie, he walked away from me. I deserved it, I knew that and I rationalized that I would talk to him over that weekend and convince him to accept my apology. But that weekend David and I were in Sacramento and when I came back and called Charlie's house he was already gone.**

**"It's eating away at me, I have a hard time even facing my father. Dad doesn't know a thing about the problems Charlie and I were having. Charlie never said a word. But, I know what I did and I know Dad would be so hurt that I drove him away."**

**Megan was very thoughtful. When it looked like Don was not going to say anything else she said, "The first thing you need to do before anything else is get rid of the guilt. It won't help you find a solution. This is bad Don, but it can be fixed. So, shake off the guilt and then you need to decide what you can do to fix it now and then what you can do in the future. Since Charlie's not here, you need to deal with what you can do here. It would help if you could figure out why you felt the need to blame Charlie on that case. Why Charlie? Why not me? or David or Colby? Why not the parents? WHY Charlie?"**

**"Megan, I have been thinking about that since the night of the fight. I don't know why Charlie. Charlie is smart, brilliant even, Charlie can come up with answers that no one else can see. He can take one dot on a map and with the smallest clue know where the next pinpoint goes. Charlie always has an answer when sometimes I barely know there's a question. Charlie has solved some of the most complicated problems of world security. He has written articles and won awards. He is on a first name basis with some of the most important people of our time. There is nothing Charlie cannot do when he sets his mind to it."**

**"So Charlie is perfect."**

**"What? No! He's not perfect. He has his faults. He can't relax without a pen or piece of chalk in his hand; he has papers everywhere. Charlie gets so absorbed in whatever he's thinking that he doesn't see what's going on around him. Charlie uses up all the hot water when he takes a shower. More times than not the pants he is wearing were picked up off the floor; he loses tract of time, runs late constantly, he is horrible with remembering birthdates. He can go into a grocery store to get one item and come out with ten but you can bet he forgot that one item that he went in for in the first place."**

**"So, Charlie is not perfect?"**

**"No, he's not"**

**"But you expect him to be."**

**Don looked at her, confused. That was exactly what he expected. He expected Charlie to be perfect, to solve those murders after the first one. He expected Charlie to do something that no one could have done and that was not fair to Charlie. Don closed his eyes. "Oh my God. That is exactly what I expected."**

**"You may have thought that you did not really blame him, but it is pretty clear that you did. I am sure that you have given this a lot of thought and looking back on it now, of course you know it was not Charlie's fault that we could not find the killer faster, but the thing that matters most is that during the case you did blame him and your actions after the fact prove that. They also indicate that you felt Charlie owed you something back for those misguided feelings. It's almost as if you believed Charlie needed to make it up to you."**

**Don was sitting with his head in his hands and Megan could not judge his thoughts. But, it was clear he was thinking it over. "Now Don, what you have to decide, is what steps you can take to make it up to him. Charlie was the injured party and you owe it to him to make the first step."**

**Don still had not raised his head to look at her. Megan knew he was going to need some time to think things over before she helped him with a game plan. "I'm going back to the office, you take whatever time you need with this, I've got your back. If you want I can let the others know you weren't feeling well and needed to go home. When you're ready to take the next step and if you need my help, call me and I will help in any way that I can."**

**"Thanks Megan, please let Merrick know I left for day. I'll see you tomorrow."**

**Don wandered back toward the parking garage, looking for all the world like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was in a daze and he did not know how to handle this right now.**

**Agent Eppes put on his sunglasses and put the SUV into gear. He had to block this out of his mind for a while and then he planned to do some heavy thinking. Don had to do something soon to make it right again.**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Thanks for the nice reviews and the pointers with the story.

I don't own the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 10

The run had left Charlie in a much better frame of mind. After he did the cool downs, he headed back to the apartment and into the shower. He dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and went to decide what he wanted to eat for dinner. There were a package of hamburger patties in the freezer and he put one in a skillet and cut up a salad. He also blended a smoothie with blueberries and the last of the very ripe bananas.

After he ate, Charlie went up to the roof with his smoothie. The sun was sinking low in the sky. Charlie felt so very far from home while he was watching the sun disappear. He knew there was a three hour time difference, but he could picture his dad in the kitchen making dinner, and the front door opening and Don walking in. Don would call out a 'Hi Dad', turn on ESPN and go grab a beer and sit down to watch whatever baseball team was playing tonight.

_'Okay sitting up here on the roof alone is completely out'. _With a frustrated sigh he grabbed his drink and headed back down to the apartment. Charlie got his cell phone and just looked at it. "No not yet."

He went and changed back into his sweats. Charlie had purposely not kept track of the numbers on the treadmill that would calculate miles. He was running a lot of miles these days, but not watching the numbers let him run until he wanted to stop.

After more than an hour, he decided he could probably sleep now. Leslie came in when he was just finishing up. They arranged another hiking trip to the park for Saturday.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Don was drunk. He knew he would be and he wanted to be home alone when he was. He had taken time to think and he just did not like what he'd come up with. What he had done to Charlie was inexcusable. How had he ever even expected Charlie to forgive him? Unforgivable. His sins toward his brother were unforgivable.

Megan has said that this situation was fixable, but what if it was too late? What if Charlie did not come back to LA? Worse, what if his brother would not forgive him?

--------------------------------------------------------------

Charlie's morning started with some time walking on that piece of equipment that was fast becoming his best friend. Every time he felt homesick or regret he was back in the gym running. He ran until he felt good again, until he could make the thoughts stop. He ran and it relaxed him as nothing except a peice of chalk could do in the past. He woke up that morning with an overwhelming sadness that he knew had to do with Don. Running helped him get past that.

He showered and dressed professionally with a tie and black dress shoes for today's meeting and lunch. He had his workout bag with both sweats and jeans so that he was prepared for classes that he would hopefully be attending later today. Charlie drove to the NSA building where he had a new office to prepare. He spent some time working on equations. Charlie had not been up to see Bob. So he did not know for sure if there was a team assignment yet. He wanted to be sure he had a good start to his train of thought. One thing he was sure of, he would not be able to treat these agents like students out for a math credit. This needed to be more like working with Don's team.

At 10:00 Bob came into the room followed by six official looking male agents and one very small woman.

"Good morning Charlie. Allow me to introduce you to your team." Bob indicated to the nearest man, who was at least 6'4 and built somewhat like Colby. "This is Agent Ken Riggle, next to him is Agent John Robinson" who was also tall but somewhat on the lean side and he was African American, "Agent Scott Linden" more of a average height man and he was older than the others, probably late 40's, "Agent Bill McKee" also tall, young but prematurely balding, "Agent Jeff Pitts" tall, piercing blue eyes and "Agent Russ Foley" on the shorter side, early 40's and red hair. Charlie made all these mental notes to keep track of who was who. "But every single one of these men will answer to Agent so you do not have to worry about remembering their names right away. '_Oh and Bob reads minds too'_. This young lady is Agent Kristen Westwood and we had to borrow her from our Legal Department."

"Agents, I am honored to present, my very good friend, Dr. Charles Eppes, Professor, Mathematician extraordinaire and bar none the world's top military security expert. Dr. Eppes is a certified genius, who holds several Doctorates and we are honored to have him design our newest security project for the military bases stateside. Your assignment is to learn the security system that Dr. Eppes is currently designing and you, in turn, will be teaching how this system works at your field assignments that Dr. Eppes will be deciding on. You will be following any and all orders from Dr. Eppes and without exception, he calls all of the shots with this project, overruled only by me."

"Charlie, I wish you luck. I have already informed the agents that they are to report here from 11 am until 4 pm every weekday and whatever schedule you deem necessary in the future. You only get them for an hour today because as I recall you have a lunch appointment to keep and a rather busy afternoon planned."

"Thank you, I look forward to working with this team."

Once Bob left the room, Charlie asked that the agents all take a seat at the table. Charlie talked in depth about the security in place now and then what the new system would be able to do. He explained that in the past the military bases would send one officer to learn the system and those officers would then go back to their respective bases and not only program the system but also teach the system to enlisted personnel on those bases. Charlie told them that that method was flawed and explained why it was better in this case to cut out a middle man and be sure the personnel were learning the program from the experts.

By the time the agents left an hour later, Charlie had a pretty good feel about the team as a whole. They were all very bright and all computer experts in their own rights. He had no doubt this project would go smoothly.

When Charlie arrived at Bob's office Bob was waiting for him and they left to meet the driver. Brian held the back door open for them.

Bob informed Charlie "it is a military secret that Italian food before a weigh in can add up to five pounds on the scale. So Italian it is."

Charlie laughed and agreed that five pounds would not hurt. He knows he has gained some weight since he arrived, but he feared all of the time on the treadmill may be stealing it back.

Brian pulled up to a classy looking Italian restaurant that was only about two miles from the NSA grounds.

After they were seated Bob asked "So what do you think of your team?"

"I think this program is headed for success. It looks like you chose the best. Do they all have the correct clearance, I know you were concerned about finding just the right assistant."

"They do have clearance for military security yes, Kristin is just barely in range, but that was enough. She's a sharp one too Charlie, I've worked with her and her legal group before and I think you will find that she has good instincts and will probably anticipate the team's needs before any of the team do."

A waiter came and poured water and asked if they were ready to order. Charlie had the opened menu in front of him and said "that the shrimp dish looks good." Bob snatched up the menu from Charlie.

"My friend will be having the lasagna with extra garlic bread and whatever dressing he asks for, so long as it's a creamy dressing."

Bob laughed out loud when Charlie looked up at him like a small child who had just been told he could not have ice cream.

"Ranch dressing is fine." Charlie mumbled.

The waiter looked at Bob. "And you sir?"

Bob said with as straight a face as he could manage. "That shrimp dish does look good. I'll have that."

By the time Charlie walked out of the restaurant he was feeling like he had to have gained ten pounds easy. It was the first time he had been nagged to clean his plate in at least ten years.

After returning to Bob's office, Charlie went into Bob's private bath and changed into his jeans and t- shirt.Charlie told him he would be back if there was good news and he would be at the local bar if there was not.

He was early for his physical. There were two agent recruits waiting their turn as well. The overall class was majority male but the two recruits in the waiting room with him were both female.

This was not your normal doctor waiting room. There was no TV, no magazines, no insurance paper information on the walls, just some chairs and one slightly crooked picture of what Charlie guessed was some offical Government building somewhere.

Charlie crossed his left ankle over his right knee, slid down in the chair, tipped his head over the back of said chair, closed his eyes and wondered why in the world he had had hurried up so that he could sit and wait.

Charlie woke from his doze to find that someone was calling his name. He sat up and noticed that the two women were gone and there was now three male recruits sharing the waiting room and looking at him.

He walked through the door with what he assumed was a nurse to the exam room. The first thing that Charlie noticed about the room was that the air conditioner was on full blast. The 'nurse' closed the door and told Charlie to remove his shirt and shoes and socks. First stop, cold scale after walking across cold floor with bare feet. The 'nurse' weighed Charlie and after a small Tsk, wrote in the chart that had appeared in her hand. Second stop, cold bathroom after walking across cold floor in bare feet to pee in a rather small container.

Thankfully, she asked him to next sit on the exam table. She excused herself, saying she would be right back. She took the small container through the next door and came right back. She checked all of the usuals, heart, lungs, pulse, bp, temp, ears, throat. She'd barely said a word during all of this but again, she said she would be right back. She again went though the next door again and a minute later she returned.

"Well Dr. Eppes, I have to tell you that while you are considerably underweight by any standards for a man your age and height, you do seem remarkably healthy." You would not quality for an agent recruit without some added weight but you are healthy enough to participate in the physical training. I would like to suggest that a milk shake everyday could go a long way to adding some quick weight."

"Then I'm cleared to start today?"

"Yes, I will see that Agent Belmont gets the correct authorizations immediately."

"Thank you very much for your time... sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Dr. Shilling."

He should have known she was a doctor, but she really did not look like one.

"Thank you Dr. Shilling and I really am not normally this thin."

"Good, I hope that means you will be putting on some weight."


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Charlie and Numb3rs are not owned by me.

Chapter 11

Charlie had some time before his first Tae Kwon Do lesson. He returned to Bob's office to let him know that while it may not have been flying colors, but he did pass his physical.

Bob told Charlie of the security measures that would be in place for the room. There would be a lock and guarded door to the soundproof room. Bob said there were other measures in place but they would not directly affect any of the team.

The Tae Kwon Do class size was eight students, the perfect size, as stated by the instructor Agent Victor Schneider. Agent Schneider was a small man. He did appear to have some oriental blood but Charlie was not sure which nationality. He had been teaching Tae Kwon Do to the NSA team for three years. He had taken Charlie aside and informed him that with a few pounds added to his frame he was the perfect size for this training.

The introduction meeting was a history of Tae Kwon Do as well as its use for the Government and some basic moves.

Charlie's next class was the gun training. For the day the training was solely gun safety and cleaning. They would not even begin target practice until they were completely versed in every intricate piece and purpose of the weapon and how to care for it.

The weight training class was completely all that Charlie could have hoped for, the trainer, had a relaxed and outgoing personality. Using the weights, everyone starts out slow and maintains their own speed of advancement.

Later after swimming his laps, Charlie did not dare so much as sit in one of the poolside chairs but rather headed directly back to his apartment. He changed and went to the gym. Once on the treadmill and set to his perfect incline and speed, Charlie was enjoying his run. He ran even longer than he had on previous occasions.

After showering, he headed to bed and once there fell asleep rather quickly.

Don had woke up hung over and even though he went to work, he was still feeling pretty poorly at lunchtime.

Megan invited him to lunch and said that she would like it if it was just the two of them since she had something she wanted to discuss. They went to a diner down the street and after placing their orders, Megan pulled out a notebook from her purse.

"I know where Charlie is."

Don was surprised she had even looked before he could ask her himself.

"He wasn't easy to trace but he's not hiding either."

"Megan do you know the kind of trouble you can get us into if someone were to find out you did a search for him."

"Now technically, we have a FBI consultant that is missing. We very well could have suspected foul play. It wasn't that in depth of a search anyway. There was no listing for a residence, phone or even utilities in his name. Not so much as a library card Don, but Charlie did get a Driver's License last week."

"You're kidding. Charlie finally made the big move? And you have an address listed for him, I assume?"

"The address listed belongs to an branch of the NSA. They are likely footing the bill on his rent and utilities."

"That's not surprising given the work Charlie does for them. You find out anything else?"

"No, but if he is working for the NSA now, finding out anything else would be more difficult. Had Charlie been hiding, we wouldn't have found out this much. Here's the address." Megan ripped the top page out of the notebook and handed it to Don. "I didn't know if you wanted me to track a cell phone service for him. There's no landline listed for the residence. The apartment is routed for wireless computer."

"Email, Megan I hadn't even thought of sending an email."

They were interrupted when a waitress came and brought their orders.

"Given the situation, you need to carefully consider how you should handle this. You want to be sure not to use a weapon like family guilt or obligation. It could very well be that Charlie is working on a project for the NSA. That he needed time and space away from you and your dad and that he's fully intending on returning home after the project is complete. I know that's the way I believe it is. You don't want to push him in any way in case he's on the verge of making decisions and your action could push him into a decision that you and maybe even he may not want. So consider very carefully what you're going to do before you do it."

"You think I should not do anything right now, don't you? At her nod, he asked "do you have any idea the weight of the guilt I'm carrying around, 'shake it off' sounds easy, but I just don't know if I can do nothing. I worry about him, I know it's hard to believe given how badly I've treated him recently, but I worry about Charlie and whether he's safe."

"Don, the NSA treats Charlie good, they'll look out for him and didn't I hear you mention that the director's secretary had been a good friend to your mother and Charlie?

"Yeah, Diane Conway is a great lady and she thinks the world of Charlie."

"There you go, now the best thing to do is wait. Just wait Don, he may come home when he's ready."

As they returned to the office, Don could not help but feel waiting was easy for her to say. He admitted that while he understood that Charlie was an adult and had every right to decide where he lives or what he does, he was still Don's little brother and Don wanted him here where he could keep an eye on him. Dragging Charlie back using any method he could think of would get him no where in getting Charlie to accept his apology. The only way that Don knew of to get to Charlie now involved dirty tricks and Don felt he was above that. But then again, Don was feeling desperate and desperate times called for dirty tricks.  
----------------------------------

Charlie needed to be at the training grounds by 7 am. He parked in the guarded parking lot and made his way to the main training room. There were some agent recruits already gathered in the room. There was no sign of Agent Belmont or any other instructor and Charlie sat down and waited along with the others. A few were even sleeping. Charlie could not help but compare these students to his own when he was running late or busy with something before he could begin teaching. Again, the recruits were mainly male but Charlie noticed that the two women that he had seen in the doctor waiting room were there as well. By the time the instructor arrived there were fourteen trainees in the room.

Agent Belmont had on sweats, had a clip board and a whistle. He looked every bit like a high school football coach. He told the class that every day they would be taken by van for some cross country running. For the most part there would be trails but occasional they would run though the rough terrain with a verbal direction and a compass. The final exam would be the same, but minus the compass.

The run would be timed and while there was no set of standards at this point, a marked improvement was expected over time. This running class was mandatory for all but the clerical staff and they would have to keep up to pass the course. This was the easy part for class, the endurance running had not started yet.

For today, they would be taken to a running track and timed, just for a general idea on where everyone stood.

As the class was filing out, Agent Belmont pulled Charlie aside and told him that he would not be timing Charlie and that Charlie was on his own, just be back at the right time. Two quick whistles meant the van was leaving in five minutes.

Charlie decided he would have to bring his cell phone in case he missed those whistles, a cab ride would be better than a long walk back.

The track was not very far away. While the class members formed lines for their own timed runs, Charlie headed for another part of the track and started running. While the run itself felt good, Charlie realized pretty quickly that running on a level track was not the best idea for him. It left the mind free to think and think Charlie did.

He tried to will his mind away from it, but it did not seem to be working. Charlie could not control the images, his fist making contact with Don's mouth, picking himself up off the floor after Don had punched him back, Don dragging Charlie forcibly away from his chalkboard when his mother was sick, Don yelling at him for being in his room again.

It was too much for the professor's mind and he ran off the track and headed for a small wooded area nearby. It was not flat but it was not very large either. So, Charlie ran from one end to the other and then back again, and again. As he was running, avoiding trees and their roots, he felt his mind relaxing and after thirty minutes of this running, he returned to the track. He was more jogging than running now, but he felt much better. The recruits were not finished yet so Charlie did his cool downs and searched out his pack for the water that he had brought with him. He sat on the ground and waited for the others to finish.

They were back early so Charlie changed into his jeans and went to his office to work on the program. Charlie had to smile when he noticed that a comfortable looking recliner had been moved into one corner of the room. There was also a coffee maker and t-bags along with donuts. Bob really was a good friend to have.

When the team arrived, Charlie started explaining the new program. The time flew by and soon it was time to break it up for his Tae Kwon Do class.

Today the class would be receiving uniforms to wear while training. The gun class and weight training followed and then Charlie was finished for the. He had planned to stop at the grocery store to pick up fruit and 1 percent milk for smoothies. It was not the milk shake as the doctor suggested, but 1 percent had more fat than soy milk.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Charlie or the other Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 12

When Charlie got home with the groceries, and walked up to the apartment main door, he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching him. Charlie swung around for a look. He didn't see anyone. He continued onto the main door. While Charlie was searching for the right key, Leslie came out the door.

"Hey Charlie"

"Hi Leslie, where are you off to?"

"I just have to run out for some soy milk. I'd ask if you need anything but you look like you were just shopping. You going to the gym tonight?

"I'm on my way just as soon as I put this stuff away."

"Good, then I will probably see you there." She held the door for Charlie and once he was through he went to the elevator and then to the sixth floor.

He had put away the groceries and changed into shorts and a t-shirt for his run. He took along his ipod this time. Again Charlie had planned to just run for a short while, but he had been overwhelmed by thinking about home today and once Charlie was on the treadmill and he felt himself relaxing, he just kept on running. As Bon Jovi sang on, Charlie ran.

When he did stop, he stepped off and noticed that Leslie was working on the stair climber. Charlie had already became aware that when he was running he was in his own world similar to when he was working with numbers but this time, it was his body and not his brain that was working nonstop and that was a welcome exchange.

When Charlie started his cool downs, Leslie came over to him. She said down on a nearby bench and asked "What is it you run from Charlie?"

The question caught Charlie off guard. He had not thought he was running from anything as much as he was relaxing his mind.

"Running relaxes my mind and body, I'm not running from anything. It's always been very hard for me to turn off my mind and this works miracles for me".

"Charlie when you run, you look so driven, determined even. You have the look of a man one the run from something or someone."

"That's an illusion, my only purpose really is to relax my mind. There was a time when the only way for me to relax my mind was to use it more, thinking and writing nearly non stop for a long time, days even. I found in running, I can turn my mind off for a while. I wish I'd of discovered how it could help me years ago."

--------------------------------------------------

Don pulled into the driveway of Charlie's house. "Dad?" Don said loudly as he came in.

"In the kitchen" Alan yelled back at him.

"Hey Dad, okay if I stay for dinner?"

"You never have to ask to stay for dinner Donnie. I am only making a meat loaf though, so don't expect fancy."

"That sounds great. I'm sorry I've been a little busy with work. We just finished up a case. How are you doing?"

"Good, the house is too quiet lately. Pauline has been taking care of two of her grandchildren and I have barely seen her but she is coming over for dinner this evening ."

Don got a beer from the refrigerator and headed to the living room. He turned on the TV and turned it to a baseball game.

Don had let Pauline in when she rang the bell. "Hi Don, I didn't expect you here tonight."

"Hey Pauline. I dropped in pretty unexpectedly. I'll let Dad know you're here.

"Not necessary. I know the way."

As Pauline walked past him and into the kitchen Don wondered why he just did not like her.

'Not my problem' he thought as he headed back to his seat and the game.

A few minutes later Pauline came back out of the kitchen. She was standing looking at the TV and looked at Don. "Are you really interested in this game. My game shows are about to start."

"Tthat's okay, go ahead and change it."

He got up and took his beer into the kitchen.

"Need any help Dad?"

"No, everything is under control. You just relax a while."

Don was surprised when his dad said "Have you heard anything from Charlie?"

Don knew he would be the last person Charlie would call. "Not a word Dad."

"That's just not like him to not call when he's out of town."

"Probably been a little busy. I'm sure you'll be hearing from him soon."

"I know Charlie doesn't like Pauline and I'm pretty sure that was him that hung up on her but he could have called back. I've been here just waiting for him to call. Maybe I should use that phone number that he gave me and see what I can find out from Director Thompkins."

"I don't think you should do that yet. Just give Charlie some time. He'll come around."

"Come around? Is there something I should know Donnie?"

"Dad you know how Charlie gets. He doesn't think about anything but numbers when he's doing a project."

"I'm worried about him. He's probably not taking care of himself again. He was already too thin when he left."

"Charlie will contact you soon. I know he will."

During dinner, Alan and Don were thinking of Charlie and Pauline rambled on about her grandchildren.

After Don left Pauline asked, "Does he always drop by unannounced that way?"

"Pauline, I want Don to feel at home here. He is my family and is welcome here any time."

"I understand that, but I enjoy being alone with you."

"We've been alone many nights. Don's been too busy to stop over and I do like spending time with my son. If Charlie were in town, he would've been here most every night. This is Charlie's house and those boys are my family. Don and Charlie are the most important people in my life and I enjoy their company."

-------------------------------------------------------

Friday morning, the van load of agent recruits went a little further than the day before. Charlie found that he was surrounded by running trails, hills, fields and very few trees. This looked like the perfect place to run. Agent Belmont told him they could expect to be here for at least ninety minutes and that about that time Charlie should listen for the whistle and try not to be too far away at that time.

Charlie left his water bottle on the bus, stuffed his cell phone in his pocket, checked the time, it was 7:30 and started his run.

Charlie was enjoying the run immensely. His mind felt completely free, the slopes were perfect and the constant change that was different from a treadmill helped free up his mind all the more. Charlie stuck to the trails and did pay attention to the direction he was running in, he did not think it look good to his new team if he was late and the NSA had to send out a search party to look for their wayward leader.

At about the ninety minutes that Agent Belmont had told him of Charlie was nearly back to where the van was parked. The class was not here yet and Charlie took the time to do the cool downs. He got his water out of the van and waited.

Pretty soon, he could hear a series of whistles. Charlie did not know if that was a signal for anything but he could tell they were not too far away and he stayed at the van where he was. A few minutes later he again heard the same series of whistles. After yet another series of the whistles, he headed toward the noise to see if there was a problem. When Charlie got to Agent Belmont, there were surprisingly fewer recruits around. He told Charlie he was missing most of the group and believes they had lost their way.

"So what do you normally do in cases like this one?"

Agent Belmont smiled, "I blow my whistle."

Charlie sat on the ground near the other agent recruits and waited. It took fifteen minutes more for the missing recruits to find their way back.

They all headed back to the van, Agent Belmont did a head count and started a lecture on the importance of paying attention to the direction you were running and landmarks.

Once back at the training grounds, Charlie changed into jeans and t-shirt and headed to the office. Even with the delay he was early. The rest of the day passed fairly quickly. After his weight training class finished up Charlie changed back into his jean and t-shirt, grabbed his bag and headed home. Charlie was thrilled with the way the day had gone. His training classes were going well. He, of course, aced his test on the gun safety, cleaning and parts of the weapon. He could begin target practice on Monday.  
-----------------------------------

"Eppes"

"Hi Don, it's Derek."

"Did you get anything?"

"I'm sending them over the wire right now so you might want to pick them up before they circulate around the office."

Don went to the pick up the photos. He did not want anyone to see them, especially Megan.

"There are three from yesterday and one from this morning."

"Got em Derek. Thanks, I owe you one."

Don returned to his desk. He had an open file from the last case he had been working on. It was the last report and the files would be put away.

Making sure there was no one around, Don took a look at the photos. The first one showed Charlie walking from a parking lot and he had two bags of groceries in his arms. The next one was Charlie walking toward an apartment building with the same bags and the third one was with Charlie at the door of the same building. There was an attractive young woman in the photo with Charlie and they were both smiling. The final photo was Charlie walking out of the same building and it was an early morning photo. Charlie was wearing sweatpants and had on a t-shirt. There was a sportsbag in his hand as well as keys.

In all of the photos Don had to admit, Charlie looked good, rested. He looked happy even. Well, at least he found a few answers. Charlie was eating and he looked like he was okay.

What had he expected? Maybe a stressed and overwork consultant that Charlie looked like when they were working on the last case. No, these photos showed a major improvement over that mental image.

---------------------------------------------------

Later, after his laps a surprise was waiting when open his laptop. Charlie had not been using his school email. The only email that Charlie had kept active was the email that was NSA and FBI related. It was not an email address that Don would use, but Charlie suspected Don had already tried his main email address and the email probably bounced. He would have had to get the email address from Merrick since he was the only one at the FBI office he'd used this address for.

Charlie,

Dad wanted to use the phone number you had given for Director Thompkins. I talked him out of it and assured him that you would be calling soon to let him know you are still alive. Dad is very worried.

Don

Charlie knew his dad would be worried. He had been gone for nearly three weeks now. Maybe he should make one quick call. Trouble was his dad did not do well with quick simple phone calls. Charlie knew that since his father started working again, he did use email again, but he had no idea how often he checked it. Charlie decided that for sure he would call his father on Sunday. It would be Father's Day and his dad should have received the card in the mail today. He would be sure to find out Dad's current email address and just let him think he was too busy to call very often but that email was no problem.

He went to the gym and brought along his ipod again. As he was listening to classic rock, he started running and his mind felt completely free so he kept running. Charlie realized he had been running for a long time when he finally stepped off the treadmill and did his cool downs.

When Charlie returned to the apartment, he had a salad and sandwich. He then took out his notes and laptop and started working on the security program.

About an hour later, he received a ding telling him there was another email. Charlie opened the email and it was again from Don.

Charlie,

No bouncing email this time. I had to steal the address from the FBI files.

Don

Charlie did not want to start thinking about Don or home tonight but he had a feeling if he did not respond, Don would send another email.

Don,

Message received.

Charlie

Charlie got back to work on the program and ended up working until the early morning hours.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie or any of the other Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 13

Saturday had flown by. Charlie and Leslie hiked for several hours and then walked to a nearby cafe for a late lunch. She was going out with some friends later so when they returned to the building she went her own way.

Charlie spent the rest of the day swimming his laps, running and working with the weights in the gym and than started to work with the security program. He did stop to make himself some dinner but he was making good headway and went back to the program that evening.

-----------------------------------------

Sunday was Father's Day. Charlie suspected that Diane was having this brunch to honor her deceased husband. She and Ben were a perfect couple and Charlie knew Diane missed him.

Due to the time difference, Charlie thought it better to not wake his dad from a dead sleep with a Father's Day wish. He would call after he returned from the brunch.

In the morning he did his laps and worked with his weights. On the way to Diane's Charlie stopped and bought some wine as well as some flowers for Diane. He also picked up a stuffed animal for Kylie.

Emily answered the door of Diane's beautiful ranch style house. Emily's smile was radiant when she saw Charlie. She hugged him and Charlie felt the bulge of baby number two.

When Charlie had first met Emily she was thirteen and a tomboy with braids to her hips. She was a tough little thing though and had just had a run in with a neighborhood bully when Charlie first set eyes on her. After Diane cleaned her up and bandaged the many bloody spots, she told Emily that girls do not fight. If she had a problem she would need to learn to talk it out. Charlie remembered clearly that she said "Yes Mom. I will try that next time." But, later, when Ben came home the excited little girl ran to the door and said 'Guess what Daddy, I beat the snot otta that Jason Timmons'.

Charlie still laughed about the excited expression that was on Emily's face and the shocked look on her mother's face when she made that announcement.

The young genius did not know how long Emily had had the crush on him that she had. He was completely oblivious to it until she got mad at him for ignoring her one day and went on to say that she had loved him forever. She was fourteen then and he was nearly eighteen. Charlie had been clueless as to why anyone would have a crush on him.

Emily invited Charlie in and a little miniature Emily ran up to her and grabbed onto her leg. She peeked at Charlie. Charlie squatted down and said "Hi Kylie. You probably don't remember me, but I remember you very well. I brought you something" He held out the stuffed animal and she reached for it and mumbled a soft 'Tank you'.

"You're welcome."

Emily invited Charlie out to the back porch, where they would be eating. Tom was in the yard on a cell phone. Diane was just coming back to the house. "Charlie, I'm so glad you could make it."

Charlie kissed Diane's cheek and gave her the wine and flowers.

The afternoon had gone very nicely and later while Emily was outside with her husband and daughter, Diane asked Charlie to sit so that they could talk.

"How's the security project going?"

"It's moving right along. The team Bob has assigned is really doing very well. We are just about ready to put the entire program in place. That will take some time to do but once that is completed installing this system on the military bases will be out next major step. That one I expect to take some time as well.

Charlie could see Tom playing with Kylie out in the yard while Emily was laughing. It was a nice family scene.

"Charlie, your mother would be so proud of you and what you're doing with your life."

"I like to think that she would. I wish she was still here. I miss her everyday."

"I do understand that feeling."

Charlie knew that as close as she and Ben were it must have been a struggle for her. Charlie had not been able to stay around too long after the funeral because it was close to finals last year.

"How are you dad and Don doing?"

"They're okay. I haven't talked to either one since I left. But, I'll call Dad when I get back to the apartment today."

"He must be pretty worried about you if you haven't talk to him that long."

"I'm sure he is but he'll make up for lost time when I do call him though."

"What happened Charlie? What drove you away?"

"I needed some time for myself, I needed a change."

"I think I know you pretty well. You did not come here for just a change. Judging by when finals would've ended and when you got here, you must have graded papers non stop and then caught the next flight out."

Charlie smiled but he did not disagree with her. It would be hard to hide the time frame from anyone who knew his school schedule.

"You know you can talk to me at anytime about anything you need to Charlie."

"Diane, really, I only recently figured out exactly was the problem was myself. I don't need to talk about it. I've analyzed it to death already."

"I really don't know Don all that well but I have some idea that he's an important influence in your life. You've mentioned before that you and he were sometimes like oil and water and now since you help with some FBI cases, I would think that mixture could cause some problems. I don't know if that's what you ran from. I'm not going to pry. If you've analyzed this, I have no doubt that you're working out a solution for yourself."

"Really I didn't run from anything."

Diane looked at Charlie a little startled. "You don't think you're running? Charlie that's exactly what you're doing. It was obvious on your face that first day. If you've analyzed this as you've said than you should have been able to see that no matter what you say out loud, you, Charlie, are running."

Charlie did not know what to say to that. She was not the first person to say that he was running, but surely there was a lot more to it that no one outside of Charlie knew. No one else knew the hold that Charlie was trying to shake. All Charlie really wanted was to get to a point beyond, a place where Don couldn't hurt him. It seemed so simple really.

"Charlie, call your dad and talk to him. Whatever the problem is at home, he needs to hear from you today. Please don't make a mistake and shut him and your brother out; the three of you need each other. And Charlie, life's too short; your father is getting older and your brother works in a dangerous job. Please don't cut those ties."

On the drive home, Charlie was thinking about what Diane had said.

Running? At the time Charlie had certainly not thought of it as running but, he admitted now, that maybe it was. But, did he think he had been left any choice?

----------------------------------  
After Charlie got back to the apartment, he thought that he needed to run for a while and would call his father after that, when he was at his best.

Charlie changed to shorts and a t-shirt and headed for the gym and started his run. He ran for well over an hour and his mind felt completely relaxed. After his cool downs Charlie went to call his father.

He had already decided that he would not hang up even if Pauline or the answering machine picked up the call. The call was picked up on the first ring. "Hello?" came his dad's anxious voice.

"Hi Dad."

"Charlie." Alan said it as more of a breath of relief than actually acknowledging him on the phone. Charlie heard what sounded like Alan covering up the phone and said "It's Charlie." He sound so relieved.

"Happy Father's Day Dad."

"Where are you Charlie, what've you been doing?"

"I'm working on a project for the military. I really can't tell you much about it, but I am working out of NSA headquarters."

"When are you coming home?"

"I'm really not sure. The project will take longer than I originally thought."

"Can't you give me some kind of time frame?"

"Not really Dad. I don't know how long the entire project will take."

"Where are you staying, are you eating?"

"I have an apartment in DC. Please don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"How can you tell me not to worry? For three weeks, I have done nothing but worry."

"I'm really sorry Dad."

"Can't you come home for a visit?"

"I've barely begun the project; I can't take that kind of time just yet."

"Okay Charlie, I understand. I'm packing a bag and coming there for a few days. I want to see for myself that you're okay."

"I'm not a little kid anymore; I am taking care of myself."

"Past history does not relieve my mind Charlie. Is tomorrow okay?"

"Daddddd... really, I'm fine."

"Good, then you can see to it that I have a ride from the airport tomorrow."

Alan's voice was muffled but he heard his dad say "Donnie, go online and see what kind of flight you can get for me tomorrow to Washington."

Charlie just sat there holding the phone and he had to roll his eyes at this. His dad was a mother hen to be sure. Now, it looked like he would be having some company.

Alan's voice came back and he said "Charlie, I can get a flight that lands at 8:30 tomorrow night, your time. Does that work for you?"

In a resigned voice Charlie said "That's just fine."

As Charlie was sitting there wondering what in the world just happened he could hear Alan talking to Don about credit card numbers and layovers.

After hanging up, Charlie felt a little bit in shock. That was completely unexpected but a thought came to him. Don. Don had probably already talked his dad into this before Charlie had even called him.

Charlie went to his laptop. He typed out the email and pressed send.

After that Charlie went back to the gym. He needed a longer run this time.

-------------------------------------------------------

Don knew that Charlie had been blindsided by that conversation and while he would never admit it to his dad or brother, he had been the one to plant the seed in Alan's head that Charlie needed him.

He had to walk out the back door so that he would not be overheard, but he could not contain his laughter at how well he had worked this. Poor Charlie, but then again, he had asked for it by making his dad wait so long and do nothing but worry. Alan had been afraid to even leave the house since that hang up call to Pauline. He did not go to the shelter and if he did go to work, he did not stay long. Alan held his breath every time the phone rang and most of all, Alan was driving Don crazy.

Feeling a little proud of himself, Don could not help but think that this was the right thing for all of them. Alan could ground Charlie's flight at least for a little while. Don was pretty sure that his brother really was working on a project and it was not just a cover story but Charlie should not have just shut them out without a way to even contact him.

Don told his dad that he would pick him up the next day and give him a ride to the airport.

When Don got home, he clicked on his computer and heard the email beep. The email was from Charlie and when Don read, he burst into a fit of laughter all over again.

Don,

When you least expect it, I am so going to pay you back for this one.

Charlie


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie or any of the Numb3rs Characters.

Chapter 14

The next day the van pulled up to some pretty rough looking terrain. Charlie's eyes lit up at the prospect of this run. Once the recruits had gotten out of the van, he checked his watch and started his run. He had two hours before the van was scheduled to leave. The rain they were expecting last night had not come, but was expected to make an appearance sometime before noon. If the rain became a steady downpour or there was lightening the class was to return to the van. Agent Belmont warned against running this terrain in the mud and cautioned them all to be careful.

Charlie's mind had completely relaxed. The running pushed out thoughts of everything beyond his next step. By the time he had completed his run, and he was feeling carefree, he decided the unscheduled visit from his dad was not such a bad idea after all. There was only a mild sprinkle when the two hours were up and he arrived back to the van.

One the ride back, Agent Belmont was talking about the NSA baseball team. He, himself had been on the team since it was first formed. He said that they played against other government agencies. Their biggest rival was none other than the IRS. Charlie and a few other members had to snicker at this. He thought that he might attend a game or two as a spectator, they usually played on the weekends but there was the occasional weekday game. It seemed like a nice way to pass some weekend time.

Once Charlie changed and got to his office, he set to work with loading what he had worked over the weekend into the computer system. His team arrived soon after. Charlie explained what he had done so far and gave them their assignments. The team had made a lot of progress today.

His training classes today had gone well. He was pleasantly surprised with how well the target practice had gone once he learned not to close his eyes. Charlie still was not sure how long he would stick with it, but he did know if he dropped out of it, he would have to find some other class to fill that hour time slot since waiting around for an hour was not an option. Waiting was not one of his strong points.

After the weight training class, Charlie left right from NSA to the airport. He was really hungry today and hoped his father was up for stopping and eating before they got back to his apartment. Charlie was pretty sure Alan would not have purchased a meal on the plane.

Every day there was food of some sort in Charlie's office when he got there, but today he had been too focused on his work and explaining the details to the agents, so he had not eaten.

Charlie pulled into a spot as close as he could get to the main entrance. It was a great spot and he took that as a good sign of how well the evening would go. It may have worked even better if he had arranged to pick his dad up at the curb but it was too late for that now.

Charlie checked the arrivals screen and the flight would be landing on time. He waited behind the barrier for his father to appear. He had always thought airports were the best places to peoplewatch and tonight was no exception. He had made it a habit over the years to watch the fellow travelers.

After about fifteen minutes, Charlie saw his father coming toward him from the barrier. He had a large carry on bag. '_Good, no baggage claim'_.

His may not be a group hug type family, but Alan was acting like he'd been a hugger all of his life. Charlie could hardly breathe.

"Son, I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too Dad. How was the flight?"

"Long Charlie and very crowded and you know you only get a tiny bag of pretzels now."

"Not if you fly 1st class Dad." Alan gave Charlie a look that let him know that was not an option.

"That's throwing away money Charlie, it's just a few hours. Some people are just spoiled."

"Hey let's get out of here and go get something to eat then. I'm starving."

Alan leaned back and looked at Charlie. "I knew it, I knew you were not eating."

"Dad..."

Alan opened his bag and handed Charlie a slightly squashed blueberry muffin that was wrapped in a McDonalds napkin and likely was bought in LA judging by the damp look of the napkin.

"Uh thanks Dad. But, I have been eating, it's just that today I haven't had time since breakfast."

Alan turned and was looking behind him. "Looking for something Dad? Meet a lady on the plane?"

"You know those long distance romances never work out Charlie. I was just looking for the directions around this place." Alan turned to look back at him. "You better eat that, I need to go to Baggage Claim."

"Dad...how much did you bring?"

"Charlie, I don't know where you live or what you have, so I may have over packed. But better safe than sorry."

_'You are so dead Don'_

Charlie nibbled the muffin and trailed behind his rapidly moving father. His father seemed to be in an awful big hurry to do nothing but wait for the luggage to start coming down the ramp.

After a short wait at Baggage claim, Alan had reached down and pulled a large suitcase off the belt. It was the first baggage out. Alan set the bag next to his feet.

The next bag out was a large bright red suitcase with gaudy gold Christmas tree garland. Charlie noticed his father did not reach for that one. It hit the bottom with a thud and after some wobbling it managed to stay upright. The garland, a beacon for whoever may eventually claim the bag.

"Charlie, we may need to rent a cart to carry all of this." Alan was reaching for a second and somewhat smaller bag than he had recently claimed.

"All what Dad? We can manage these three bags." At that second Alan again reached out and took another bag off the belt. Charlie watched as the bright red bag passed them again. "How much do you need for six days?"

"I like to be prepared."

"So, I've noticed over the years"

He went to rent the cart. He deposited the money in the slot and a hand reached for the cart. Charlie followed the arm and found himself looking up into the smiling face of his brother.

"Hey Buddy, I've missed you."


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie or any of the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 15

Charlie just stood there staring at him and looking wildly confused. Don was pretty sure Charlie was in shock. Was that panic Don saw?

"Wh..What are you doing here?" Charlie's chocolate eyes were big and looked pained, like it hurt Charlie to look at him.

Don walked back toward their father with the cart. "Do you have them all Dad?" There was a rather large mound around Alan.

"I'm just waiting for the one with my clothes in it now."

"None of these others have clothes in them?"

"Of course they do, but those are Charlie's clothes. I'm waiting for mine now."

Charlie was frozen in place. People were walking by him, he could feel the rush of the air and he caught the occasional odor of perfume. The noises around him were all mixed together and sounded like a tornado bearing down on him. The bright red bag made yet another circle.

People were getting their luggage off the belt, but not the bright red bag, Don was loading up the rental cart with the luggage. Alan was watching for the missing bag and Charlie was wondering if he could make a mad dash out the door and just get out of there. Why had Don come? Why hadn't he been told so that he could prepare himself?

"Dad, the way this is going, I bet your clothes are on their way to Atlanta as we speak" Don told Alan.

Charlie looked at Don. '_Why did he have to come_?' He felt his shock give way. '_Okay, Don is here, I deal with it or I leave them both here'. 'They wouldn't be stranded. They could just wait for the next return flight home'. 'Could I be disowned? It is my house after all'._

"The bags were all together and all marked with the same tags, now Charlie can probably tell me what the odds are of them losing the one bag that I need the most out of all of these bags that I brought with me."

Charlie finally found his footing. He realized he was tricked by his family and they would be discussing it later. He looked at the loaded cart, he looked at the belt still circling with just one bag, the bright red bag, he looked at the empty baggage claim standing area and he sized up the situation.

"Right now Dad, those odds are pretty good. Everyone's gone; I do believe they're not dropping any more bags out of there. Let's go fill out a claim and get out of here. They'll bring you your bag when they find it."

"I'm not leaving without that bag. If I don't have that bag that means I don't have anything else to wear."

"What you're wearing will be just fine for tomorrow; we have a mall and everything here in case the bag doesn't show up." Charlie told him.

"I can't understand how they could possibly lose one bag out of the seven that I checked. And why that one anyway?"

"Statically speaking, you threw the odds in your favor by checking so many bags on the flight and unless I miss my guess, you paid quite a bit extra to bring all of those bags. You could've asked me and I would have told you that the apartment was completely furnished right down to the pots and pans when I moved in and that I've been to the mall for whatever I've needed since then." Charlie looked around. "I see the claim office over there, let's go".

Don had been standing silently by and did not offer a word now. Charlie had obviously recovered from his shock and Don thought it best not to test his luck. Charlie may just leave him stranded at the airport.

The youngest Eppes was walking toward the claim office and turned to look back at his dad.

Alan was still standing near the loaded cart watching for another bag to be dropped onto the belt. "Dad? You need to file the claim; the ticket is in your name".

"I'll get the cart Dad, you go ahead" Don told Alan.

Alan had been in there for ten minutes when Charlie felt the rest of his patience flicker away. He moved close to where Alan was sitting and writing "Dad? Is there a problem?" He really did try to keep the irritation from his voice.

"The form asked what was in the bag and I am listing them, I'll probably need more paper."

Charlie closed his eyes and was determined that he would not make a scene here in this tiny office. "What you are supposed to write is MEN'S CLOTHES. They don't need to know the color of your socks." Charlie looked at the clerk behind the desk, "didn't you explain that he didn't need all that information?"

The young girl looked at Charlie, blinked and said "I did" and the look she gave him dared him to argue with her.

"Dad, just sign the form and let's go now, please." Charlie took the form from his father after it was signed and put in his home address and cell phone number.

As Don was pushing the cart Alan asked how they were getting to Charlie's apartment. He had hoped it was not by cab this time of the night.

"I bought a car and it's parked near the main entrance. Of course the main entrance is pretty far away from the Baggage Claim so that great spot doesn't mean anything now."

"You buy a driver too?"

Just then a woman hurried past them, and in her left hand was the bright red bag.

Charlie really could not help himself. He tried to stop it before it started. He just started laughing and he could not get himself to stop. He was not sure if he was releasing the tension that had been storing up ever since his morning run or if he was completely losing his mind, but he was standing in the middle of the deserted Baggage Claim section laughing. Alan and Don were looking at each other, somewhat concerned before Charlie managed to control himself.

"G--, I needed that" Charlie said to no one in particular. Without looking at either of them, Charlie calmly started walking toward the main entrance leaving the two of them to hurry to catch up.

Don pushed the cart and followed his brother out to the car. Charlie popped the trunk and they put as much as they could in it and then Charlie put the rest in the backseat. He had purposely spread the bags over the seat and Don had to rearrange them to fit himself in.

Charlie got into the driver's seat and Alan was looking at him. He knew his father was afraid to ask in case his question started Charlie on another mental episode of laughter so he told him "I have my driver's license Dad, get in and let's get out of here."

After Charlie paid the parking attendant, he pulled out of the lot. Charlie decided that nothing had gone his way this evening and he was doing this his own way now. He pulled into the first fast food place he could find and pulled up to the drive thru. Charlie had seen his dad and Don just looking at each other as he placed his order. He then turned to them and asked if they wanted anything. After placing all of their food orders, Charlie drove to the window, paid, picked up the order and drove away.

"Charlie, wouldn't it have been easier to go in?" Alan asked as he took an item out of the bag in his hand and handed the bag back to Don.

"Not for me" Charlie responded. They ate in silence on the way to the apartment.

When they got to the apartment building, they unloaded the bags and carried them in. After the elevator ride, Charlie unlocked the apartment door and he took the bags into his bedroom and dropped them on the floor. His dad and Don followed. "You know this apartment is kind of small for three people. There is the bed in here and the living room has a sofa bed."

"You keep the bed Charlie. Your bother and I will take the sofa bed and tomorrow we'll see about an extra bed."

Charlie looked at his dad. "You know, a little warning would have been nice. I could have gotten an inflatable mattress." The irritation was back in Charlie's voice.

"Uh Charlie, he didn't give me any warning either. He just showed up on the plane." Charlie's eyes flew from his father to his brother. Of course, it made sense that his dad would not have tricked this way.

Don finally had something to say. "Charlie, would you have let me come if you had the option?"

"Well no, but I wouldn't have let Dad come either if I had a choice and yet here you both are. I'll be back in a little while." He brushed past Don and headed out of the bedroom.

"Charlie, where are you going at this time of night?" Alan asked as he followed Charlie out of the room.

"I am not leaving the building. Stop worrying about me Dad." Charlie went into the bathroom where his sweats were and closed the door.

"Okay, don't be gone too long."

Charlie changed and left the apartment. He headed down to the gym. He'd forgotten his ipod but knew there was no way he was going back for it.

Why now? Couldn't Don have given him more time? He ran for well over an hour and it calmed him down. He knew this was not his dad's fault and decided he would not take it out on him. He would just have to make the best of a bad situation.

After Charlie left, Alan looked at Don and said "you should have given Charlie some warning. This had better work out because six days with the two of you fighting in an apartment of this size and we will all be running to other ends of the country to get away from each other."

"I'm sorry Dad. I promise you that no matter what, I will not fight with Charlie. I know I haven't told you anything about the problem, but you can trust that it was my fault and I intend to fix it. Charlie has every right to be angry about my unexpected appearance and about the problems we were having."

"It was killing me to let this go on Dad; I HAD to see Charlie now. But, I will give him time and space. I have six days to work on this."

"Okay Donnie, I'm just going to have to trust you on this." Alan was thoughtful for a minute and then he said "Charlie looks good doesn't he?"

"Yeah he does, maybe just a little stressed out tonight but he does look much better than the last time I saw him."

"You know Don that laughing episode scared me. I think the stress was too much for him."

Don had to give a small laugh. "He scared me too, I really thought he was losing it. But I have to say he recovered pretty well and it seemed to have broke the tension in him."

-------------------------------------------

When Charlie was done with his run he headed back to the apartment, hoping his dad and Don were already asleep.

Alan was putting Charlie's clothes into the closet. It looked like he brought every item of clothing Charlie owned.

Don was unpacking another bag and putting things in Charlie's dresser.

Charlie went to his laptop and turned it on. The email beeped. He saw another opened bag on the kitchen floor; this one had some kitchen items in it. He blended up a smoothie and sat down to work on the program for a while. Charlie opened the email.

Charlie

Sorry for the surprise, but I really did need to talk to you. I tried to talk Dad out of all that luggage.

Don

It looked like Don had set the email up using delayed delivery. He must have known that if Charlie had forewarning, he would just leave them at the airport.

Charlie wrote Don back. His brother did not have a laptop and would probably not get the email until after he was gone anyway.

Don,

I am donating everything you guys brought to charity after you leave.

Charlie

Charlie only worked the program for twenty minutes. He ushered both his dad and Don out of his bedroom and went to bed.


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie or any of the Numb3rs Characters

Chapter 16

When Charlie's alarm went off at 5:30a.m., he hit the snooze. Between that first alarm and the snooze alarm, his dad had started breakfast so he woke to the sound of cupboards opening and closing, then a "where else would you keep a spatula?".

Charlie got up and headed to the bathroom to get ready. He was pretty sure he would be running late if his father was making a full breakfast and he knew that van would not wait for him. He showered, dressed and shaved in record time.

When Charlie came out his dad was dishing out scrambled eggs and toast. Don was still asleep on the sofa bed. '_Jet lag' _Charlie decided.

Charlie ate and had his tea in his hand when he left the apartment. He told his dad that if he wanted the next day, he could drop him at the NSA and take the car. Alan told him that depended on whether or not he got his lost luggage today.

Charlie had a two hour run. The run had relaxed him and he decided that he would be fine with Don being in his apartment for a few days. The rest of the day had gone well.

Charlie returned back to the apartment, Alan was in the kitchen cooking.

"Hey Dad." Charlie noticed that the apartment had been thoroughly cleaned.

"Hey Charlie. How was your day?"

"It was fine. Smells good in here, what are you cooking?"

"Roasted chicken with rice and veggies. Those vegetables were frozen. Just about everything is in season now Charlie and you don't have any potatoes."

"We'll get some Dad. It's been a while since I've had mashed potatoes."

"Charlie, who did your shopping? I see that you have pretty packed cupboards. You've never been one to plan your menus in advance."

"Diane did that, she had the apartment pretty well stocked when I got here. She spoils me really."

"That's good Charlie; you need someone that'll take care of the details in your life. How is Diane doing now?"

"She seems to be doing pretty good. She misses Ben though. She has her daughter around pretty often and she is going to be a grandma again in a few months."

"That's great, another one. Her daughter is pretty young. Maybe Diane's influence can rub off on you. Just don't meet the love of your life in DC or I may never see the grandchildren that I hope to have some day."

"How about if you invite Diane over some evening for dinner while I'm here. I'd really like to see her again. Your mother and she were pretty close. I didn't spend the time with her that your mother did but I have seen her and Ben on several occasions since you've met her."

Charlie said that he would invite Diane over Friday evening. Alan told him he will make his shopping list after dinner and hopefully they could run to the store.

"Where's Don?"

"He said he was going for a walk. He's really not used to be shut up inside all day."

"Then he should have stayed home. I don't know he bothered to come anyway". Charlie saw the hurt look on his father's face and changed the subject. "Looks like it's going to rain tonight".

Don returned to the apartment five minutes later. "Smells good Dad. Is it ready?"

"Yes, we were just waiting for you."

"Charlie, that's a great park you have out there. Pretty unexpected to see it here in DC"

"It really has some good hiking trails too. I go hiking pretty often."

"Yeah? Maybe you can show me these trails."

"I didn't know you even liked hiking Don."

"Well normally I don't but I would like to see these trails and will need a guide. I'd get lost on my own, I'm sure.

"I told Dad you guys can take me to the NSA building and use the car tomorrow. I'll be staying until at least seven, but if it will be later I'll call and let you know. Hey Dad, did you get your bag?"

"Yes, it was delivered late this afternoon. Smarty here" he indicated to Don, "knew that that bag had taken a detour to Atlanta. How did you know that Don?"

"It's a known fact, if you are flying east, most missing bags get on a plane to Atlanta."

Both Charlie and Alan were looking at Don. His father said "You made that up."

Don grinned. "Okay, I did. When I came through the gate as one of the last boarders on the plane, the gate right next to ours was calling their first boarding call and that one was a flight to Atlanta. It was a lucky guess that the luggage went to Atlanta."

After they ate Alan had started washing the dishes. Charlie was drying and Don was in the living room with a baseball game on.

"Charlie, I want to apologize for not seeing that you and Don were having problems before you left. I know that at the time you were very busy but I still should have known something was up."

"Did Don tell you there was something wrong?"

"Not until he surprised me by showing up on the plane with me. He didn't tell me what the problem was though. I may not have seen it at the time, but it's so obvious now."

"Dad, I was just so busy before I left, I didn't have a spare minute to myself, much less any time for Don."

"So you're telling me that there was no problem between you and him"?

Charlie hated when his dad ask those direct questions.

"No Dad, I'm not saying there was no problem but it was stress related for the most part."

"You didn't call home for three weeks Charlie. If it hadn't have been Father's Day, you probably wouldn't have called when you did. After a minute, Alan said "that case, something happened on that last case that you helped Don with, didn't it."

"Dad, I really don't want to talk about this. There's really not a reason for you to worry. Now, how bout we head out to do that grocery shopping now."

Alan made a list. He had planned to cook and freeze some proper meals for Charlie as well. Charlie was surprised when Don followed them out the door. Don spent very little time in a grocery store and his refrigerator at his own apartment in LA proved that.

Once they were in the grocery store, Don designated himself cart pusher. Charlie stayed out of his path since his ankles had been caught too many times when they were younger by Don pushing the cart. Charlie could not remember a time in his life when he was in a grocery store with both his Dad and brother at the same time. It turned out to be an adventure.

Don was all about the speed of his journey through the isles and his dad was all about thrift. Those two types of shoppers did not mix well. It took Alan longer to choose a watermelon than it took Don to locate and return with the soda, beer and chips that he wanted. Alan looked at the items that Don had placed in the cart. "Did you notice that the products you're interested in, you only have to rip off the top to consume?"

"No, I hadn't noticed. I like the convenience."

Charlie told Alan "Dad you are buying too much food. It will only spoil before I can use it all."

"No it won't Charlie, since I'm cooking and freezing enough dinners to fill your freezer. Then I need to buy sandwich fixings since you are skipping lunches at the NSA. Charlie did not bother to explain that there was food at the office as well as a cafeteria. Charlie bought some energy bars and they were finally able to leave.

They stopped and bought an inflatable mattress for Don to sleep on while he was here. Charlie told his dad to be sure he took the mattress home with him when they left.

When they returned Charlie changed into sweat pants and a t-shirt and headed to the gym. He noticed that his father had done his laundry. The washer and dryer were in the apartment but he had only done it as needed.

Charlie was on the treadmill, Guns 'n Roses was on the ipod. Charlie was in his own little world. Don walked in and his brother never noticed him. He ran on. Don sat on the bench that was just out of Charlie's peripheral vision. Not that he would have noticed him anyway.

Don was in deep thought as Charlie ran. All of his careful planning and he did not know how he would talk to his brother. Coming right out and saying he was sorry was a start, but Don suspected it would set Charlie off and all of them in the apartment could be very tense if Charlie did not want to talk it out. As Don watched Charlie running, he could see thathis brotherlooked relaxed but determined. Twice he watched while he reached down and adjusted the incline.

When Charlie finished his run, he stepped off the treadmill and turned to where he usually did his cool downs. He saw Don and he thought that this was getting to be a habit of Don's. Showing up unexpectedly. Charlie removed his ipod and as he started his stretching, he asked Don "did you need something?"

"No, I was just hoping that we could have a chance to talk when Dad wasn't around."

"Don, I really don't want to talk now and I really don't want to talk here."

"When then Charlie? I need to apologize and I have some things to talk about. When would be a good time?"

"When I get back to LA sounds good to me. I could have told you that through email if you had asked."

Charlie finished and walked out of the gym and toward the elevator. Don came up beside him. "Charlie, I really am so sorry. I didn't really understand why I acted the way I did until recently. I never meant to hurt you or shut you out and I certainly did not mean those things I said to you."

"Is that an apology that I'm supposed to accept and things are okay now? You haven't told me anything Don."

"Well, as you have already pointed out, this is not the place for it." Don said as he pushed the button for the elevator.

When Charlie and Don came back, their dad was in the kitchen rearranging the cupboards so that everything was where it belonged.

The TV was on. Charlie told his dad he needed to work and took his laptop to the bedroom and closed the door.

Charlie worked on the program for a few hours. He went back out into the living room and his dad was doing a crossword puzzle. Don was watching TV.

"Charlie, when you invite Diane over to dinner, ask her if she likes brisket."

"Will do dad. I'll leave earlier Friday so that dinner doesn't have to be so late. If someone is taking me to work tomorrow, that someone should not stay up too late."

"No Charlie. I really don't have anywhere that I need to go."

"You could sight see Dad, there is plenty in DC to see. Or if you're interested you could walk two blocks up and there is a really nice café, a book store and some small shops. It's a nice walk really."

"I may just take a look then."

Don had not said anything but said "I'll ride in with you tomorrow and borrow your car if that's okay. There are a few things I'd like to do."

"No problem. I leave at 6:15 if it is not raining.

Alan asked "do you always work such long days? I was under the impression that the NSA took good care of their consultant."

"Dad, this is an important project. I am giving it as much time as needed. I wanted to stay busy and I have been. There is more to the NSA than computer work and I am taking advantage of it."

"Charlie, you don't need any help in staying busy. You've always been that way."

"I've been taking some of the many courses that the NSA offers. Nothing major. They just let me participate as a break in the project."

"You always were interested in learning more. The courses are a good idea then but you be sure to take the time to eat and sleep."

"I manage to do that, I promise."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The next morning it was raining when Charlie woke up. In the event of rain his running class would instead use an indoor track. Since Charlie had the advantage of showing up when he wanted, he instead chose to stay and use the gym for his running time. That gave him until 11:00 to report to his office.

His dad and Don were still sleeping when he awoke but by the time he changed into his sweats, his dad was waking up.

"I'm not going into work until later Dad. I am heading for the gym downstairs and should be back in an hour or so." Charlie got his ipod and went down to the first floor.

Just over an hour later, Charlie stepped off the treadmill. While doing his cool downs another resident came into the gym. He got on some gloves that were lying nearby and headed toward the punching bag. He saw Charlie and grinned. "Great stress reliever and I just had a fight with my wife. Letting off steam is why I come here."

"Running works for my stress, but I can see how a punching bag would help as well."

Charlie went back to the apartment. His dad had made french toast and eggs and he and Don were just sitting down.

"Good timing, how did the work out go?"

"It was just fine. Dad, if you go out today, I hope you brought an umbrella. I haven't gotten one yet."

"I was thinking of waiting until tomorrow to go out. It could rain all day and I think cooking and freezing those dinners is a better way to spend a rainy day and Charlie, I brought you an umbrella."

After eating, Charlie headed to the bathroom for his shower and to get ready for work.

Charlie and Don left the apartment at ten fifteen as planned. On the way out Alan handed Charlie a lunch bag and an umbrella. Charlie rolled his eyes.

Don thought this was not a good time to talk to Charlie. He did not want to distract him and so the trip to NSA was done mostly in silence, except for the Tom Petty CD that was already in the player when they got in.

Charlie drove to the main entrance of the building. As he put the car in park and got out he told Don "there's a map in the glove box if you need it and I'll meet you right here at this door at about 7:20. I left that lunch that dad fixed in the backseat so lunch is on me today. Have fun."

When Charlie got to into the building, he first went up to see Diane. "Hey Diane."

"Hi Charlie, how is everything going?'

"Good, I skipped the running class today since it was raining and indoor tracks do not help settle my mind like running on other terrains do. I called my dad on Father's Day and he and Don hopped a plane the next day and are now staying with me for the rest of the week."

"That's great Charlie. I'm glad you've make contact and I am amazed at how fast they came to see you."

"I think Don had a hand in that. Probably convinced Dad that I was starving and living out of a shopping cart or something."

Diane laughed. "Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad they could make it."

"Dad asked that I stop and invite you to dinner on Friday."

"I would love to go Charlie. I haven't seen your father or Don in a while."

"I'm going to skip my last class that day. Dad said dinner would not be until after six but you can come whatever time you leave here. He told me to ask if you like brisket."

"I love it Charlie."

"Great, he's famous for it back home. I'll see you Friday evening then. I better get to the office and get a jump on what I'm going to be covering today."

Since getting to DC Charlie had steadily been putting the weight back on that he had lost. At the Tae Kwon Do class today, Agent Schneider, or Vic that he asked to be called worked with Charlie on his moves. "Charlie I am really impressed with how fast you have advanced. You are my star student right now. You're a natural."

"Thanks Vic, I enjoy learning all of the new moves and then putting them into practice." Charlie was proud of how well all of his classes were going. He knew that in weight training, he had made a lot of improvement since he started. He was realistic enough to know that he would not be a star student there, but he was making his own advancements and that was fine with him.

Don was waiting for Charlie went he exited the building at just after seven. He was leaning against the car.

"Charlie, this was probably not a good idea. Apparently the NSA frowns on cars parked in front of the building like this. I showed them the car was registered to you and showed them my badge but they have been sitting looking at me like I have a car bomb. Next time, maybe you could give them the details when I need to pick you up."

"I never even thought about all that. If you need the car again, there is a small restaurant over on the next block that has a TV in the bar that I could meet you at. I haven't been there on this trip, but I've been there several times in the past. We can drive that way tonight and I'll show you where it is." Charlie into the driver seat and started the car.

After pointing out the restaurant to Don, Charlie asked him how his day went.

"It was a good day. I have a few friends with FBI here and stopped in. There is one agent that I owed a favor to and bought him lunch."

"You spent a day of your vacation at another FBI building?"

"Not all day. I had a few errands to run and saw a few sights. I fed most of your lunch to the wildlife of DC. They, at least appreciated it."

"Geese Don, you fed my lunch to geese?"

"It was the only wildlife around and they don't like pickles by the way. Anyhow, this way you can tell Dad the lunch was appreciated."

Charlie had to admit it was better than the line he would have probably used had his dad asked.

When they walked off of the elevator that evening, there were some fabulous aromas intermingled throughout the hallway.

After opening the apartment door, Charlie noted that they all seem to originate in his kitchen. "Hey Dad, smells great in here."

Hey Don and Charlie, I've been cooking all day. There's some beef stew that'll be done shortly. I'm just putting cornbread in the oven now."

"Sounds good. I'm going for a quick swim and will be back in about twenty minutes."

"Twenty and not a minute more Charlie."

Charlie changed and went to the roof for his laps. He was easily doing twenty laps now, but he did not want his dad to have to wait so he did not try for more. The overcast sky was not very inviting to spend more time in the water anyway.

Charlie changed his clothes and showed up at the table with his hair still wet. "I've missed your cooking Dad."

Don joined them at the table.

"All you have to do is come home Charlie and you can have my cooking every night again."

"I know. I will get back as soon as I can, but as I've said, it may take some time to finish this project."

Don had been thoughtful during dinner and did not say much. "Hey Charlie, after we eat do you want to take a walk over to that park?"

"Too many bugs this time of day. How about after my workout we meet on the rooftop. There's chairs around a pool up there and not a lot of people use that one."

"Care if I change and head to the gym with you and then we can both go to the roof?"

"That's fine with me."

Charlie helped his father clean up. There was food in the oven, no doubt to be frozen when it was done.

Charlie and Don had both changed into clothes to work out in. Both were wearing sweatpants and t-shirts. Charlie went to the treadmill and Don headed for the weights.

He put his ipod on and tuned out the rest of the world. While Charlie stayed on the treadmill Don had been making the rounds with the equipment. Don was ready to leave and Charlie was still running. He sat on a bench and waited for his brother to finish. He looked at his watch. An hour and a half. How could anyone run non-stop for an hour and a half at the pace that Charlie was keeping? The incline changed several times but the pace seemed to be the same. Don noticed that while Charlie did not even see him standing nearby, there was a peaceful look on his face. His eyes were bright and surprisingly Charlie was barely winded at this point. Don was pretty sure that had that been him running that much at that speed, he would be sweating and panting by this time.

Finally, after another ten minutes, Charlie was finished. He removed his ipod, turned it off and started his cool downs.

"How do you do that Buddy? How do you keep up that pace for so long?"

"No big secret Don, I just get on and run. It relaxes me."

"I think it would kill me."

"Okay, all done. How about I blend us some smoothies to take to the roof with us. I have it on good authority that milk shakes are good for me and this is as close as I can get."

"Sure, a smoothie sounds good."

They went back to the apartment. Alan was putting containers in the freezer. The oven was still on and Charlie suspected his dad had just put in another dish.

Charlie blended a strawberry/banana smoothie for all of them. He and Don took theirs and headed for the roof.

The roof was deserted as Charlie was sure it would be. They sat in two chairs side by side.

"Charlie, this has been eating away at me ever since that night that I came to see you at Cal Sci the last time."

Charlie had mentally braced himself for this moment but at this point he was not sure he could do this just yet. Charlie started to say something and was raising from his chair at the same time.

"Please Buddy, let me talk. We have so much to talk about." Charlie, sat back down and leaned back in the chair. He tipped his head back and waited.

"The first place I want to start is with that case. I was unfair to you. It was my case and I was in charge. Every time there was a call about another dead child found, it just ripped more and more at my soul. What kind of a psycho would want to kill so many little innocent kids?"

"This was not the kind of killer that was using logic. This was not an animal that could be found by just anybody. This was a kind of case that needed special attention and a special brain to solve. The rest of us normal brains didn't stand a chance without any clues, but in my heart I knew that your brain could do things the rest of us couldn't. So, I really expected that you could do something that no one else could."

"Don, you have to know I tried."

"I know you did Buddy. I know that you worked hard looking for answers that logically were just not there. There was never a clue left behind, the perp never once slipped up. The subtle pattern that eventually formed would not have been spotted by anyone else but you. But, my main point is that I was wrong to expect you to do the impossible. I tried to rationalize during the case that it was not your fault. But there was that one voice in my head that kept saying 'Charlie can do this'; 'Charlie can find the answer to anything'. And that part of my brain just seemed to take over. I couldn't close that voice out."

"All of your life you were finding answers that I had been struggling for. I could never understand the genius that is you. I tried many times, but in the end, I decided not to try and understand it, just accept it. Charlie knows the answers whether I can understand how or not."

"After that night when you and I fought, I felt the overwhelming guilt that took over my every thought. It's been that way since that night Charlie. For over six weeks, my main focus has been the guilt and my actual betrayal to you as a brother."

There were tears in Don's eyes now and he wiped them away. Charlie had his head tipped back and seemed to be gazing at the stars, completely relaxed. Don moved his chair so that he was facing his brother. "Charlie, I've made the mistake of not allowing you to be human. I'm not proud of my thoughts or actions. I'm not trying to erase my guilty conscious by explaining any of it away."

"I hurt you, I know I did and I'm not just talking about that shiner either." Charlie looked from the stars to Don's face. Charlie straightened in his chair. He looked into Don's eyes when he spoke.

"First I want to say that I forgive you for what happened during the case, emotions were high, I understand that. What happened after the case is the part that hurt the most. All my life I've looked up to you Don, nothing you ever did was wrong, you were the most important person in my life. Your approval was everything to me." Charlie had to look way from Don's eyes. He wiped at his eyes.

Charlie looked at the drink in his hands. "After that case, I had to face some hard realities. You had never been proud of anything I had done; I was never going to be the brother you wanted. It really wasn't all about that case, that was just the breaking point. I'm proud of what I've accomplished in my life. I will not go through the rest of my life waiting for you to see me for who I am and accept me. You will always be my brother and I will always love you, but I have to take the power from you that you have to hurt me like that again."

Don's voice was little more than a whisper, "Charlie."

Charlie's eyes were now filling with tears. "I can't do this now Don."

Charlie got up and walked away.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I do not own Charlie or any of the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 18

Don was shocked by Charlie's speech. He really had underestimated the amount of hurt Charlie was feeling, the depth of his pain.

Charlie could not possibly still believe that was true. Don closed his eyes and remembered his relationship with his brother over the past two years, he thought about the case and then thought about what needed to be said.

Charlie headed back down toward the gym. He knew he was running away this time. But he needed to clear his head. He had things he wanted to say to Don and he wanted to be able to say them without breaking down. For over an hour Charlie ran.

Don left the roof and he was ready now for the rest of that talk with Charlie. He may have promised his father that he would not fight with his brother, Charlie may toss him out of the apartment, but his brother was going to listen to him. How had this gotten so far out of hand?

Don stood in the doorway. He watched Charlie run. This time he was not relaxed; he was not adjusting the incline. He did not look winded now either just scared. This reminded Don of Charlie standing in front of his chalk board when their mother was sick. Had Charlie made the running as his new form of p vs. np? Had he substituted a physical coping mechanism for the mental one? It was a scary thought.

Don went over and stood in front of the machine. "Charlie, turn it off. We talk now." Even though Charlie was looking at him, he made no move to stop. "I said we're talking now Charlie. I won't let you end that conversation like that. You don't have to say anything but I think you need to hear me out." Charlie looked liked he intended to stay right where he was. "Please Buddy, just give me five minutes."

"Don I'm not ready for this. I need some time first." Charlie looked so scared. How could Don have hurt his brother so badly and not seen the extent of that hurt?

"Five minutes, just five and then I'll leave you alone and you can have your say when you're ready. I promise Charlie when you're ready to talk, I will be ready to listen."

Charlie turned off the machine and went to the bench and sat down. He did not look at Don. He was staring straight ahead. His shoulders were tense, almost like he was bracing himself for a physical blow. Don sat down next to him. "G-- Buddy, I am so sorry that I hurt you that bad. Charlie, those things you said may have been somewhat true when we were kids but they're just not true anymore. We were different people then. You and I were very different from each other. I did wish back then that you were more like me Charlie. I may have been jealous of you because learning came so easy to you and because you got more attention. I was a kid and kids feel that way before they understand and see that people can be different and that's okay. I didn't understand it and I didn't want you to be different. But now, I wouldn't want you to be any other way. Charlie I have always loved you. I glad you're my brother. I'm **lucky** that you are my brother."

Since I moved back to LA you and I were a lot closer than we had ever been. You know that's true. That was no act." Don leaned forward to better look at his brother, but he was still staring straight ahead. "We were at a point where we were more than just brothers. We were friends and I liked that Charlie. You can't pick your own brother, that's true, but Buddy could we really be friends if I had not accepted you? If I did not appreciate you as the person that you had become and I don't just mean your brain or the help that you've given on cases."

Charlie wiped at his eyes and his shoulders were more relaxed but he still would not look anywhere but straight ahead. Rather than take the chance that he would get up and walk out Don decided to lay it all on the table and continued on. "I mean that I appreciate you as the person that you are. You don't play mind games, you don't look for the bad in others first, you're a very open, honest and sharing person and I appreciate those traits in you. I learn from you Charlie. I want to be more like you. Maybe that's a little of my old jealousy coming through. I envy the person that you have become. You're not jaded and you trust others more easily. I've learned to trust others again because I can trust you. I can believe in others again because I can believe in you."

"I've seen things that are so vile that they have made me sick to my stomach. I used to believe that for every killer we locked up there were five more just getting started. I didn't believe that we could win. But Charlie you've helped me see that the bad guy doesn't always win, the monsters are not hiding behind every corner. I take my job very seriously Buddy. My job is to stand between the monsters and the good people. The good people that I know still exist because you opened to eyes to see them."

"You said that case was the breaking point but Charlie, I don't believe that's true. I think that you took my actions during and after the case and got them mixed up with my childhood actions toward you. The stress of the case and my irrational expectations along with how run down you were brought the old pain back up to make the new one that much worse. That case was the hardest emotionally than other case I had been in charge of and good as the team is, as good as you are, we couldn't stop him. We may not have been family to the victims but that doesn't mean we came out unscarred.

Remember the past two years, Buddy and let the rest drift away and I know you'll see that they are completely separate. Please think about where we were before that one case. Don't bring the past into it. I would change the past if I could; but I can't. We can only go forward.

I know that I was wrong to treat you that way. I'm so sorry that I hurt you, so sorry that you've been hurting all this time. I have never been more ashamed of my actions than the way I treated you before you left. I've accepted that you aren't perfect; you're just as human as the rest of us. But, I'm asking that you remember that I am not perfect either. I have always and will continue to make mistakes. I made a major mistake Charlie. I'm hoping that you can forgive me, that you will give me the chance to make it up to you.

Buddy, I don't know how I gave you the impression that I was not proud of you. Maybe it's just too hard for me to say how I really feel. I promise to work on that. I am very proud of you. I've been proud of you for a very long time. I'm proud of you as my brother and I'm proud you as my friend.

If we can't work this out in the next few days, I'm not giving up Charlie. I won't give up on what you and I have. You are the very best part of my life. I need you and nothing else in my life matters to me as much as you do. Please think about what I've said, remember how close we were getting and how we have missed so much of our lives together because I was afraid and even jealous of the differences between us. I don't want to lose any more time with you Charlie. And Buddy, **YOUR** approval is everything to **ME**.

Charlie looked at him with unshed tears and then he looked down. Don got up. "Whenever you're ready Charlie, I promise to keep quiet and let you have your say."

Charlie nodded his head. He didn't trust himself to speak yet and then Don was gone.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

When the alarm went off, Charlie had to drag himself out of bed. His legs hurt. He probably forgot to do his cool downs last night, he couldn't seem to remember. Charlie had sat on that bench long after Don left. Don had spoken from his heart. It tore at Charlie the way his brother had bared his soul. This was not something that he did easily. In fact, he had never known Don to speak to him right from his heart before. Don was no actor, he was no liar, and it must have been a hard decision for him to make to open himself up that way. Charlie had gone back to the treadmill. He did not know how long his last run lasted but he knew it was well over two hours.

He got dressed and without waking his dad or Don, he grabbed a water bottle and quietly left the apartment.

By the time Charlie arrived at the main training room, he was starting to feel more awake. The run was expected to be a long one today. He would have to make up for the fact that he did not eat breakfast when he got to his office. He really would have liked some caffeine too. When Charlie started on his run however, he was feeling much better. The recruits referred to this barren piece of government land as Hell's Corner. Charlie did not think it was bad enough to warrant the nickname but he was not doing the endurance course either. The terrain was too rough to maintain a hard run. His speed shifts were constant as first there was level ground and then slopes up or down, slowing him. Charlie tried to shift his direction to the more open terrain but that did not last long, there was just no avoiding the slopes. After one particularly steep slope down, Charlie hit the bottom in a full out run.

That was when it happened. His legs stiffened without any warning and he went down hard, landing on his face and immediately shifted to his side with the pains in his legs. The pain was nearly overwhelming and his stiffened legs would not loosen up. He tried to massage the cramps out but it was a slow going process. He was in tears now and feeling frustrated that he was again so tense. He tried the cool down moves that Leslie had taught him. It helped some. The pain was not as intense now. There was blood dripping down his face and he wiped it away.

He lay on his back, gazed up at the blue sky and he felt completely defeated. His thoughts immediately went to Don. Charlie knew he was scared. But what was he scared of? Was he scared of trusting Don? Was he scared of going back to the way things were before? Was he scared of walking away and having to live his life without his brother in it?

Charlie again tried to massage the pain from his legs. He thought 'well genius you just going to lie here all day?' At the moment that thought sounded pretty good. But Charlie knew that it would soon be time to head back to the van. It would be getting hot out here and he'd left his water behind. He had very few options.

Charlie struggled to his feet but his legs did not feel strong enough to take a step. The muscles in his legs were still cramped up. Charlie sat back down and worked on relaxing his legs and the rest of his body. He massaged the calves with slow movements. It was more than a half hour later that his left leg felt better, the tightness gone. His right leg though was not as cooperative. He looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes past the two hours that Agent Belmont had said. Of course, he was too far away to even hear the whistles. He may have missed the van but he would be able to find the road if he could just walk that far.

Charlie again struggled to his feet. He was favoring his right leg, but he could not just sit here. The rough terrain was more of an obstacle now. The slopes looked so much bigger. He tried to avoid them as he hobbled his on his way. The upward slopes made his left leg ache but it make it right leg give out on more than one occasion. He wondered if he had torn a muscle in the right leg.

After countless falls Charlie thought this would be a good place for a break. Again, he started massaging the calf muscle. He looked at his watch, it was now 10:15 and that van would have left at least forty minutes ago. Just when he decided he was ready to get up and give it another try he heard "EPPES?" being yelled in the distance. He heard the whistle blow. '_You'll probably have to wait longer than fifteen minutes for me Agent Belmont'_. Charlie knew that he would not be heard if he screamed out from the bottom of this slope. He needed to get back up there. It really was not very big but right now it looked like Mt. Everest and Charlie knew to be heard he needed to get over it.

Once again, Charlie was on his feet. His left leg was doing as much of the work as possible, but in the end Charlie had to crawl up the slope. He would wait for the whistles again and yell out. He lay back down and hoped he would be found. He did not look forward to crawling all the way back to the road. Just then Charlie's phone rang.

He could not make out caller ID because of the glare, but he did not care who it was anyhow. He wanted to hear a voice. "Hello?"

"Charlie?" It was Bob. "You have a very worried Agent Belmont looking for you."

"Yeah I could hear him yelling."

"Think maybe you could yell back so he knows where to look? Are you hurt Charlie?"

"My leg muscles tightened up me. The left one seems fine now, but the right's not letting me put any weight on it. Not really hurt Bob, but pretty much stranded."

"Hang on a minute, I'm going to have Belmont yell for you again and you can let me know about how far he is."

"Bob, I can barely hear him. I'm to the north of him though."

It took twenty minutes for Agent Belmont to find him. By that time, Charlie was feeling pretty embarrassed. One look at the Agent's face and Charlie could tell the man was relieved that he was okay. "I'm really sorry, I must have overdone it with the running I've done over the last two days. My muscles cramped up." Agent Belmont sent one of the two recruits he had with him back to the van and had him drive it as close as he could to their location.

After Agent Belmont had assisted Charlie onto the van and into his seat, the recruits were up and checking on how he was doing. Most had seen him running before and some had gotten to know him a little. Most all of them knew he was a civilian consultant but that was all that they had been told. While Charlie was assuring the recruits that he would be okay, Agent Belmont was back on the phone with Director Thompkins. "Sir, I have assessed the situation and it is my opinion that Dr. Eppes should be taken to Bethesda Hospital. Dr. Shilling will not be able to tell from just looking if there is any real damage to his leg. Yes Sir, I'll let him know."

"Doctor Eppes? Director Thompkins has ordered that you are seen at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He said that when we return to the NSA grounds he'll meet you in the main training room."

"Thank you Agent Belmont." Charlie did not think there was anything else that needed to be said. The recruits were staring at him and anything else he added would only make it worse. Most of them had never even met Director Thompkins yet.

The van returned to the grounds and two recruits assisted Charlie off the bus. Director Thompkins was standing near the van door. "Charlie, what have you done to yourself?"

"You know it isn't as bad as it looks, I'll be fine after I rest the leg a little."

"I've already notified your team that you would not make it today and set them on other duties. Recruits, please escort Dr. Eppes to the bench over there," He indicated toward a bench near the entrance.

Most of the recruits had walked back into the room, but the two that had escorted Charlie had not left yet. It looked like they were afraid he'd fall if they walked away.

Director Thompkins looked at them. "That will be all for now, we will let you know if you are needed again."

Bob took out his cell phone and made a call. "Brian, can you please bring the limo to the main training room door. I have an injured professor to transport."

Director Tompkins closed the phone. "Charlie, Diane told me that your father and brother are in town. I need a telephone number to reach them." Charlie gave Bob his dad's cell phone number. Bob walked further away to make the call and Charlie could not hear him.

Brian had the limo to the door in what Charlie swore could not have been more than three minutes. Brian got out and opened the door. He then made his way over to where Charlie was sitting on the bench. "Where's the injury?"

"My right leg," Charlie answered.

Brian assisted him to his feet and to the car. After Charlie was inside, Bob finished his call and walked around to the other side, opened the door and got in.

"Bob, I'm pretty sure I'll be okay on my own once I'm at the ER. I'm sure that you have more important things to do."

"Oh, I'm sure you would be okay, but I want to go along for the ride anyhow. Let me just see what the doctor has to say and by the way, I do have some pull with the ER staff and you wouldn't have to spend the entire day on some hard chair. I have a limo on the way to pick up your family and bring them here so that they get your car and personal effects."

"The guard locks my laptop up in a safe and will not release it to anyone but me. Could you call and ask that he give it to my father when he gets there." Director Thompkins was on the phone for only a minute.

With one phone call from Director Thompkins, Charlie was wheeled into a private exam and Dr. Doven, Senior Staff Orthopedist was into see him. After he examined Charlie's legs, he ordered and MRI on the right one.

----------------------------------------------------------

When Alan answered the phone and the caller had identified himself as Director Robert Thompkins of the NSA, Alan had felt panic. It had to be bad if the Director was calling him. But his mind was relieved when the Director told Alan of Charlie's running injury and that he was being taken to Bethesda Hospital. He was having a limo sent to pick up Mr. Eppes. The driver would call up to the apartment when he got there.

After Alan was off the phone he told Don what the Director had said. "It looks like Charlie may have not given us all of the details on the courses he's taking at the NSA. I thought he meant he was learning their accounting system or something. Charlie was training with some recruits and he was running out in a canyon somewhere and somehow hurt his legs. They're taking him to Bethesda Hospital for testing to see how bad the damage is. He also said that Charlie was able to walk with assistance but the testing he needed could not be done at the NSA. So, now Thompkins is sending a limo driver to pick me up. I think Charlie and I are a little overdue on talking about all the little details he leaves out when he answers a question. The limo driver is going to take me or us if you want to go along, to pick up Charlie's car and sports bag. For what the Director said, he may be ready to go home by the time we get to the hospital.

----------------------------

After the MRI, Charlie was escorted back to an exam room. A corpsman had put a couple stitches in Charlie's forehead and after he left, Bob came in with a sandwich and a cup of tea. Charlie smiled gratefully. He was feeling pretty hungry by now. "The doctor put a rush on the films so we should hear something soon."

While Charlie was eating the sandwich he asked what his father's reaction had been.

"Pure panic Charlie, I get that reaction a lot though when I call people."

Charlie chuckled. "You didn't happen to tell him how I hurt my legs did you?"

"There was not much chance that your father was going to let it go without an explanation and besides you never mentioned that you didn't want him to know."

"It's not that I was hiding it Bob, but I probably should have explained it a little better. He's going to get it in his head that I'll join up and be a field agent and the man does worry enough about me as it is."

"So you came here to get away and the family followed you." It was more a statement than a question. "I hardly think you were ready for that given your feelings when you first got here. I believe you said you needed time and space from them and you really got very little of either. Am I right in assuming that's why you spent so much time on the treadmill last night?"

"I have been so amazed at the way my stress level is reduced when I run Bob. I love my family and I did miss them, but the problems that Don and I were having is what I was not ready to face yet. I had just accepted that my dad was coming and while he does worry too much, I was even looking forward to a short visit from him. Don though, he never even told me he was coming. He just showed up. Don't get me wrong, he's been great. He's apologized for his part in the problems we were having, he has addressed issues from now and the past. But…"

"You still need that space" Bob finished for Charlie.

"Yeah" Charlie admitted quietly.

The door opened and Dr. Doven came in. He had the films and chart in his hand. He sat down near Charlie. "Good News Dr. Eppes, no ligament tear or permanent damage done. But the main muscle in your right calf is stretched and the nerves around that are causing the pain. I would say you were extremely lucky. You are overdoing it plain and simple. The history you gave the corpsman shows that you ran in access of four or even five hours last night. That on top of the terrain running this morning which I understand was over an hour, was just too much. Now, I'm going to give you crutches, meds for pain and another to relax your muscles.

"You are grounded from any running for at least a week. You need to use the crutches and keep any weight off the right side until Monday. No driving or anything that puts any strain on that calf until Monday as well. The running course you are taking with the NSA is to stop for at least three weeks. After you're cleared to return to running with the training class you are to check in with the doctor at the NSA, Dr. Shilling, I believe, every day after the run for the first week. If you have any problems at all, she is to be told of them. To get right to the point if it hurts at all anytime, whether walking or running, you are to stop.

Right now, I want you to stay off that leg as much as possible. Soaking it in a hot bath will help and take the muscle relaxer. You can take the pain meds as needed, but the muscle relaxer needs to be taken until they are finished. I'll have the corpsman schedule you for an appointment to see me in three weeks in my office here at the hospital. Just check with him on the way out for the date. Dr. Eppes, I want to stress that a stretched muscle, that is such a hard working muscle in the body anyway, is in danger of long term or even permanent damage if you do not allow it to heal properly."

Charlie was feeling an internal panic when he was told he had to wait so long to run. "But you did say that I can start up some running again in one week?"

"Some being the important word here Dr. Eppes. I have to recommend that you start slow back on the treadmill. No more than five minutes the first day and if you feel fine after that you can add another ten the next day and the same the next. Make sure you stretch out the muscles before and after even the short term running. Stretch the right ones more gently at first.

Now, at the beginning of the week you can see how you do just walking on it. If at any time you feel pain in that calf you are to stop immediately and give it another two days off that leg. You might try some outdoor walking or even the stair stepper next. But nothing too strenuous or for too long."

Charlie found all of this to be a major set back that he could not help but be upset over. It was only temporary and he would not be completely immobile with being on crutches, he would just have to think of something.

"Thank you so much for your time Dr. Doven. I will follow all orders as you have said."

Dr. Doven shook both of their hands and left. A few minutes later, the corpsman came in with the crutches for Charlie to try out. "Perfect fit" Charlie told him. He was pretty quiet when Bob was walking to the elevator and Charlie hobbled.

Once the elevator doors closed Bob said. "Just a little advice Charlie, stand your ground and take that space you need, your family will understand."

Once they were back down to the ER, Charlie saw his dad, Don and Brian waiting. Bob shook hands with Alan and Don, then he took Brian aside and after signing the prescriptions asked that he get them filled for Charlie at the pharmacy down the hall.

Charlie explained to his father that he just had a stretched muscle in his leg and would be fine in a few days. When Brian returned with the meds, they all filed out to the parking lot. Director Thompkins turned to Charlie. "Remember what the doctor said Charlie, stay off the leg for a few days. Take the day off tomorrow and I'll see you on Monday."

"Thanks so much for all of your help Bob, if it weren't for you I would still be crawling toward the road and calling a taxi."

On the trip back to the apartment, Don drove while Charlie sat in the passenger seat, the seat pushed back for more leg space. Alan kept up a steady flow of conversation from the back. Charlie just closed his eyes and wondered how he was going to survive the next few days.

It seemed to Charlie that he had just closed his eyes when he was rousted. He looked up see his brother holding the car door and his father holding the crutches. He scooted himself out and with Don's help was standing upright on the curb. Alan took over and handed Charlie the crutches, waiting for him to get his footing. Don then left them to move the car to the parking lot.

Charlie made his way to his bedroom and fell right down onto the bed. He was exhausted.

Don came in a few minutes later, checked on Charlie and saw that he was sleeping. He closed the door to Charlie's bedroom and went to the kitchen look for his father. Alan was sitting at the table drinking a glass of iced water and looking at the bottles of meds.

"This one's a narcotic Don; think Charlie downplayed that muscle a little?"

"Director Thompkins said that Charlie understood the seriousness and that he can be trusted to take care of this. I got the impression that he was afraid to betray Charlie's trust by saying anything else. You know we should probably wake him soon for the medication and help get him get undressed."

"I'm making him something to eat and then we'll do that. I don't know if he's eaten anything today." They were quiet for a few minutes. "Donnie, did you know Charlie was taking the physical courses that the recruits take?"

"No, I didn't exactly, but you remember what he said about the rain and him not going in that early if it rained. We did have some kind of clue if we were looking for it."

"You don't think Charlie is going to be an NSA agent do you? Could all this have been about joining up and he didn't want us to know?"

"Dad, Charlie doesn't have to take the recruit classes to join the NSA as an agent. He's in high demand; they would take him on any terms at all, trust me. If Charlie's taking the physical classes with the recruits, it was probably because he wants to stay busy just like he said. He has been running a lot on that treadmill here."

"You should see Charlie when he runs. The first time I saw him running, he was so relaxed, he ran for a really long time and he was not even winded. He not even sweating Dad. He seemed to be right where he wanted to be. It was a side of him that I had never seen before. Contentment is a word that I would describe what I saw. Last night though, when I saw him running, after he and I had talked, Charlie was more like running away. That's where I bet his problem came in with his legs. I don't know how late he ran last night but I do know that he was using the running as a way to cope, like he usually does a chalkboard."

"I want to know what happened between the two of you and I expect to hear it from you since you have already taken the blame for it. It's probably a good idea if we wait until we get back home though."

"I'll tell you everything then Dad."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Alan went to the side of Charlie's bed. "Charlie, you need to wake up now." Charlie did not move. "Charlie wake up, you need to eat something and take your medication before I can let you sleep."

Charlie cracked open an eye. "Dad, I'm really tired now. Why do I need to get up?"

"One is so that you can eat something, two, you need to take the medication and three, you need to get changed from those clothes. They're dirty. Here I brought your crutches for you."

Charlie rolled over and covered his eyes with his arm. "Dad, I ate a sandwich at the hospital. Just bring the medication and some clothes and I can take care of that right here.

"Charlie, you need to come out and eat something more filling. You are filty and need to clean up."

"You know it is a proven fact that sleep is the best way to heal an ailing body. If I could just sleep, I will no doubt wake up feeling much better. The bed may be dirty from my clothes but I probably wouldn't need the pain medication if you just let me sleep."

"Humor me Charlie. You'll sleep better clean with a full stomach."

Charlie groaned and sat up. He swung his left leg off the bed, picked up his right leg and put it next to his other leg. He took a crutch in each arm and he stood up. As Charlie hobbled from the bedroom, Alan followed close behind.

"When they reached the dining room table, Charlie eased his body into the chair that Don had pulled out for him. He smiled his gratitude. "Okay, I'm here Dad, let's eat because I feel like I'll fall asleep sitting here."

Alan brought out a roast beef sandwich and soup. Don offered to blend a smoothie and Charlie said that he just wanted water. Alan set a soup and a sandwich for he and Don and they joined Charlie eating. Alan was looking for answers now.

"So tell us about it Charlie, what happened out there?"

"I was running, my legs stiffened up on me and I fell. That pretty much is the story."

"It's the pretty much part that I am interested in Charlie. Director Thompkins said you have been doing this running for three weeks. Why today Charlie? Why did your legs give out now?"

"Dad, I may have overdone it a little last night and then I think I forgot the cool downs to loosen up the muscles. I don't remember now, but the course was a rougher one than I have been running and when I ran down one slope, I hit the bottom too hard."

"Then you were lucky. It sounds like the damage could have been much worse."

"That's what the doctor said too."

"Why have you decided that running is right for you now Charlie? I know this is not a requirement."

"Running relaxes me like nothing ever has before. I wish I had known years ago how well it helps me mentally."

"Crossword puzzles would be safer."

"Dad, when we're done, would you please run me a hot tub of water. The doctor says a hot soak in the tub will help with the pain. I don't want to take the pain meds unless I need them. I'll just stay off the leg as much as I can today and see how that goes."

"Sure Charlie, but don't fight the pain either, if you need them, take them."

"I will Dad. Right now I just want a muscle relaxer and the hot tub though."

Alan went to run the hot tub of water, Don cleared the table and when he got back to the dining room, he had the bottle of muscle relaxers with him. Charlie took one and drank some water. "Thanks."

"I'm sorry Charlie if all that extra running was because of the talk we had."

"Don, it wasn't your fault, I have to learn not to overdo it. I think I enjoy it too much, but I did learn from that mistake. Like the doctor and Dad both said, I was very lucky that the damage was not permanent. I would hate to give up running now. I just discovered how well it works for me.

I think that hike is out for us this weekend though. If you want we could go to the NSA baseball game Saturday. They're playing against the IRS and apparently the IRS is one tough team to beat. It should be fun to see."

"Sounds good Buddy, we can make a day of it and I'll make sure you are sitting as much as possible."

Alan came out to say the hot tub was ready. He offered his help.

"No, I'm good Dad, I'll call if I need help. Charlie look the offered crutch and leaned on it while his father assisted him to his feet.

"Don't get your stitches wet in there."

Charlie got to the bathroom okay on his own. He thought it would be best to sit on the side of the tub to remove his clothes since he would not have to get back up from there. While trying to get his clothes off, he lost his balance and ended up in the tub. He hit his head off the wall. '_Well that worked out well'_, except the only parts not in the tub were Charlie's legs and those legs still had sweat pants on them.

There was a knock on the door. "Charlie are you okay, did you fall?"

"I'm just fine Dad" Charlie yelled back through the closed door.

Charlie scooted himself toward the back of the tub. He reached up and lifted his right leg into the water. His left leg worked on command and he was feeling pretty proud of himself for having made it into the tub without too much trouble and no outside help. Charlie lowered himself more into the water and from there was able to slide off his clothes, except his right sock and he decided that one will just have to stay until he got done. Charlie threw the sopping wet clothes on the floor. He then laid back and enjoyed his soak.

He quickly discovered that getting out was much easier than getting in there. Using the soap dish as leverage on one side and the side of the tub on the other he was able to pull himself up to a near standing position. Once up, he needed something to hold onto to take the weight off his right leg so that he could put his good leg out first. Charlie reached up for the shower curtain rod. He held on to it and eased his left leg over the tub and then the rod gave way. Charlie fell forward and used his left leg to brace the fall as the rod came crashing down. Charlie congratulated himself on actually getting out of the tub and be still standing. He eased his right leg down. He was not too far away from a wall. He knew he could hop that far on his left leg. Charlie noticed the sopping wet sweats were in his path. He stepped to the side of them and his left foot slipped on the water that was all around the sweats. Luckily when he went down he landed on his butt.

"Charlie, are you okay?" Came the frantic yell outside of the door.

"Still fine Dad."

Charlie reached behind him for the towel and used it to dry himself off. He looked back at the towel rack and wondered if it would hold his weight any better than the curtain rod had. He put the towel around his middle as best he could.

"Dad" he yelled.

"Yeah Charlie?"

"Think you could help me get back on my feet?"

The door opened immediately and Alan came in. Charlie was clutching the towel around his waist and Alan went behind him. He was just about ready to grab him at the armpits and stand him up. "Charlie, you stay right where you are until I can get this floor dried off. You could fall you know."

"Yeah Dad, I know. Thanks."

Alan grabbed a few more towels and used them to clean the water off the floor. He took the curtain and the rob and tossed them into the tub. He picked up the wet sweat pants and boxers and one sock and tossed them in the sick. More floor drying. He got behind Charlie and hoisted him up by his armpits. Once standing, Charlie secured the towel better at his waist and while leaning just on his left leg reached for the security of the wall.

"Stay right where you are and I'll go get you some clean clothes."

"Thanks."

Alan returned a minute later with the clothes. Charlie only needed minimal assistance getting dressed. When he was ready, Alan handed him his crutches. "Think you can sleep for a while longer?"

"I could sleep for a week Dad."

Charlie hobbled into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. Again using his hands he lifted and put his right leg on the bed. The left leg followed on its own. He laid back and fell asleep quickly.

After Alan put the bathroom shower curtain rod back up and cleaned up the bathroom, he went looking for Don. He found him looking out the window, deep in thought. Alan was growing concerned about him. Don had talked very little today.

"Did he finally admit that he needed some help in there?"

"Yeah but he fought it as long as he could. I didn't go far enough away from the door that I missed that he fell getting in and getting out of there."

"He has a stubborn streak doesn't he?"

"Very much like his older brother. The only difference is that Charlie will give in and asks for that help when he knows he's had enough." After a minute he asked Don. "What are you thinking son?"

"I'm thinking it may have been a bad idea for me to come here. I should have waited."

"Wait a minute Don, how can you say that? You've barely made an attempt. You're no quitter Donnie."

"Megan warned me to be careful. She told me not to force Charlie's hand. Wait, she told me, just wait Charlie will come back when he's ready. And last night he pretty much said the same thing to me. He told me he's not ready for this yet."

"Tell me something Donnie, what makes Megan the expert on your brother? I don't care how much she knows about Charlie or how much you've told her. Megan has not known Charlie all of his life, she doesn't know him well enough to know what his reaction would be; she does not know the bond that Charlie has always felt with you."

"Let me ask you something. Why did you want to come here so badly that you were dishonest and sneaky to do it? Why did you give up a week's vacation to spend most of your time in an apartment in Washington DC with your father? Did you do it to hurt Charlie?" Don shook his head. Alan continued "No, you did it because you care about Charlie. You did it because you were following your heart, your gut instincts that told you that you needed to fix this now. Let me tell you something that Megan does not know. Even if Charlie is not ready to face this, to face you and talk over the problem, Charlie knows that he is important enough in your life for you to try everything that you could and that counts for something. So Don, when it comes to your family, never let outsiders control your actions or thoughts. You've got to follow your heart."

---------------------------------------

Don took a beer and went to the roof to be alone for a while. He needed to think about Charlie, about what else he could possibly say and he had to face the fact that his brother may not want things to be the way they were before; That Charlie may not even want to come home when the project was finished.

He arrived back at the apartment just as dinner was nearly ready and his dad sent him to wake Charlie.

"Charlie, time to wake up." Charlie did not move. "Hey Buddy, up and on your feet, your father requests you join us at the dinner table." Only a very small reaction. Charlie scrunched up his face and shifted slightly. Don got on Charlie's right side and leaned onto the bed. " Ch…ar…..lie" he whispered right into Charlie's ear. Then he backed up and off the bed. "CHARLIE!" He yelled.

The reaction was immediate. Charlie's eyes popped open, they were huge and he was scanning the room for the threat that he was sure was ready to pounce. His left leg fell to the floor and Charlie looked ready for flight, but Don was prepared and was holding Charlie's right leg to the bed so that he did not do any more damage to the injured limb.

Charlie leaned up on his elbows. Don was looking at his brother with an amused smile on his face. Charlie was panting like he had just finished a marathon. He looked at Don in disbelief. "What?" came his irritated response. "What do you want?"

"I came to invite you to dine with your father and brother in your own dining room. Interested?"

"Don did you and Dad somehow miss what the rest of the world considers common knowledge? SLEEP is very important with people who are mending. Now, go away and both of you leave me alone or I'm going to call and tell Bob that I need a bodyguard."

"I'm guessing that's a no?"

"Yes, brother mine, that is a no. Close the door on your way out."

Don turned and started to walk toward the door. "Okay, but you don't sound very sure. I'll let Dad know that you are considering the invitation." A pillow hit Don in the back of the head.

Don went to the dining room, he was unaware that his father had heard and seen the entire encounter between Charlie and himself. He had gone to offer assistance in case there was resistance from his youngest. But Alan played it out so that he could see where Don would go with this.

"Where's your brother?"

"He woke up pretty grouchy Dad, maybe we better give him a few minutes and then you can try to get him in here."

"Did you tell him I made tacos? You know how he likes tacos."

"No, I forgot to mention what was on the menu, but I'm sure if you go in there and tell him he would be only to happy to join us."

"Donnie, I need to get the rice on the table. I'll get that and grab you a beer while you let Charlie know what he'll be missing if he doesn't join us."

"You know Dad, tacos always taste better the next day, maybe you can just save some of those for his lunch tomorrow."

"Let me put this another way Don. I want Charlie here at this table for dinner. Now would be a good time. In case you haven't thought about it, Charlie probably will have problems sleeping tonight if we just let him sleep through. Do you have any idea how annoying crutches and a sleepless invalid can be when you're trying to sleep in a confined space like this one? Consider getting your brother to this table like you would consider a new case at work."

"I'm the boss Dad, I can delegate."

"Chicken. Okay you get the rice on the table and I will get the grouchy professor out here."

Alan softly opened the bedroom door. He was being cautious in case of flying missiles. "Charlie?" he said softly from the doorway. "Charlie, dinner's ready." Alan had been creeping to the bedside. He reached out and shook Charlie's left leg. "Charlie, wake up."

Charlie opened his eyes and squinted at his dad. "What?" came an annoyed response.

"Time to wake up. We're getting ready to sit down to dinner."

"I think I explained in some detail to Don that I'm not hungry."

"I know you did Charlie, but Don didn't tell you that we're having tacos."

"They make great leftovers Dad, save me some for tomorrow." Charlie said as he turned over onto his side.

"Charles Edward Eppes, you get your butt out of that bed now."

Charlie sat up slowly. His dad was waiting with the crutches and to assist him to his feet. Charlie was mumbling under his breath and Alan could not miss the part that mentioned 'Sunday can just not get here fast enough for me.'

Charlie hobbled out of the bedroom with his dad following close behind.

Don had held Charlie's chair for him and then set the crutches out of the way. He had to admit that Charlie looked tired. He wanted to ask if Charlie had gotten any sleep at all last night but decided that may be a touchy subject now. Don assisted Charlie in making his tacos since Charlie was lacking in motivation.

"Thanks."

"No problem Buddy."

Charlie picked up and attempted to eat one of the tacos that his brother had prepared. He really wasn't feeling very hungry though and could not eat more than a few bites.

He asked for assistance and Don got his crutches and helped Charlie over to the couch. He got his requested laptop and then Don went to finish his dinner.

Charlie attempted to work on the program for over an hour and he could feel his eyelids start to get heavy. Don and his dad had finished cleaning the kitchen and were now sitting in the same room watching a baseball game.

"Look guys, I'm really tired. Anyone have any objections of me going to bed?"

Don shook his head and Alan stood to his feet to help Charlie. He held up the crutches.

"You sure there're no objections? I might not be so nice if I get woke up again before dawn."

"No one will bother you the rest of the night Charlie. Let me help you get to bed."

They stopped at the bathroom, Alan got Charlie another muscle relaxer and then he assisted Charlie into his sweatpants. Charlie was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Alan softly closed the door and went back to the chair he had been sitting in. "He's out already."

"I'm surprised he made it as long as he did, he must not have gotten very much sleep last night. I didn't hear him come back into the apartment."

"I'll just let him sleep in tomorrow if he needs it."

"Dad, I know you came out here to spend time with Charlie, but do you have any objection if he and I spend the day together on Saturday? We had already discussed an alternative to the hiking that he can't do now and I'm hoping he'll be ready to talk to me."

"I don't have any objections at all to that, you just be sure he doesn't forget himself and put weight on that leg."

"I'll take care of him Dad, I promise."

"I know you will Donnie."


	21. Chapter 21

I don't own the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 21

The next day, Charlie was up just a few minutes after his Dad had started making breakfast. Charlie hobbled out to the living room on his own. When he saw Don was sleeping, it was all he could do not to scream his name in his ear, but decided he had a definite handicap when it came to getting away from an angry brother while on crutches. Charlie went into the kitchen.

"Good morning Dad." Charlie said, reaching for his muscle meds.

"Morning Charlie, how do you feel today?"

"A lot better than yesterday." Charlie took a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and walked back toward the living room.

He was just watching Don sleep at the same time that he was contemplating that the air mattress was waterproof. Charlie took the medicine and tipped his head back and took a long drink of the water. He was holding the bottle and trying to make a decision when Don opened his eyes and took in the situation. With a warning in his eyes he said "I wouldn't."

"What? I was just going to inform you that breakfast is nearly ready."

"Uh huh, well, I'm awake. Thanks for the notice."

Don got up and headed into the bathroom. "Tell Dad I'm going to take a quick shower would you?"

Alan came out of the kitchen. "Don't be long Don." Alan turned toward Charlie. "Aren't you under doctor orders to stay off your feet as much as possible?"

"I'm deciding if I should sit in the dining room since I'm half way there or to sit in the living room and then have to move again."

"Tough decision Charlie. Let me know what you come up with." He turned and went back to the kitchen.

Once he was sitting at the dining room table, Alan brought him a glass of orange juice. Don joined Charlie at the table just as Alan was coming out of the kitchen with plates of omelets in his hand.

"He set a plate in front of Charlie. "Veggie omelet for you. Alan moved around the table "And cheese omelet for you" and set the plate in front of Don. "I'll be right back with toast and juice."

"Thanks Dad." Alan returned with his own plate, juice and toast.

"Charlie, after you eat could you call Diane and make sure she is still coming this evening?"

"I'm fairly certain Diane would come even if I called to say that it was cancelled. If she didn't know the two of you were here to look out for me, she'd of been bunking here last night as it is. Might have been a good idea anyway. Diane at least knows that injured people need lots of rest. You two on the other hand, have no clue how to treat a patient. I'll see to it that she gives some pointers."

"Please call her anyway."

After eating Charlie got his phone. "Hey Diane"

"Hi Charlie, How are you feeling? You know if Bob had told me about your injury I would have come to see you yesterday after the van returned. He did that on purpose you know, said I would embarrass you in front of the recruits. He and Agent Belmont are both in some trouble with me. I didn't find out until Bob returned to the office where he'd run off to."

"I was fine really, just a little problem with leg cramping."

"Do not even start that with me Charlie because I can promise you that I've got the full story by now. You were overdoing it and just not taking care of yourself again."

"I guess that part's true, but I am taking care of my leg correctly. I'm not taking chances. I promise that. Except they don't let me sleep around here. I will have to spend half of next week catching up." Charlie looked up and saw the twin looks on his father and brother's face and he started laughing. "Okay, Diane, let me rephrase, they did not let me sleep enough during the day yesterday, but I'm fine now. They even let me sleep all the way through the night."

"Charlie, your teasing them will come back to you, I hope you know that."

"Yeah, but I did tell them you would give them pointers on how to care for the ailing. Hey, Dad wanted me to call and make sure that you're still coming for dinner tonight."

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away now Charlie."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah, I told him that too. Okay, come over any time you are ready. I'm grounded and I'll be here."

Charlie got his laptop and started working on the security program. About an hour later, Alan came in and said he needed to run to the store for some fresh lettuce for dinner and some spices he had forgotten. Charlie told him he should also get fresh cut flowers for the table and a bottle of wine.

Don was up on the roof at the pool and this is the first time that Charlie had really been alone since his family arrived. He felt lonely. The apartment felt lonely. He knew in the past he would head out to the gym. Charlie struggled into his shoes and took the elevator to the roof.

Don was swimming laps and did not see Charlie right away. He sat in one of the poolside chairs and waited. Once Don finished, he looked up and saw Charlie. He got out of the pool and got the towel to throw over his shoulders. "Does Dad know you escaped?"

"Not yet, I'm sure he'll figure it out once he gets back from the store though. I wanted to bring smoothies but I couldn't think of a way to get them up here without spilling."

"Yeah, that would be a problem. How about we head back down there and you can blend them while I change? I was taking a better look at the gym and there's some of the equipment that you can try that won't require the use of your legs. It could help with restlessness. I didn't see a chalkboard anywhere in your apartment."

"I'm only using the chalkboard to train the agents now. I wanted to find a new outlet. It's a good idea if I do check into the other things I can do while I am restricted. I can use the treadmill for five minutes on Thursday and build back up from there."

Don and Charlie went back to the apartment. Alan was not back yet. Charlie blended up the smoothies.

After they drank the smoothies, Charlie suggested they head down to the gym before their father returned.

When the elevator door opened Alan was standing right in front of them with a bag in one arm. There was a vase of flowers in the other hand. His eyebrows rose. "Going somewhere?" For some reason Don was the one that looked the guiltiest.

"Just as far as the gym Dad." Charlie answered. Alan's eyebrows rose even further.

"I thought you were supposed to stay off your feet Charlie?"

"This is a pretty short walk and I'm just checking onto equipment that would be okay to use now. I've been to the gym a lot of times, but I haven't paid much attention to what else was there. I had tunnel vision on that treadmill."

"Okay, but you take it easy. Don't overdo it on anything."

"No problem."

Don pointed out a piece of equipment that was aimed at only upper body and did not require he use any leg muscles to do the exercise.

It was certainly better than free weights; it did not relax him though. It used chest muscles Charlie didn't know he had. But it was something to keep him occupied. They were ready to go back up to the apartment in forty-five minutes. Charlie was back again working on the program.

Don had borrowed the car and gone to the FBI office. Alan was busy the rest of the day preparing the meal and chopping veggies to freeze for Charlie. He managed a hot bath on his own to soak his painful muscle. It had hurt more this evening that it had all day.

Don got back to the apartment just a short time before Diane was buzzing to be let in. Charlie opened the door before Diane got to the sixth floor. It was at the same time that Leslie was just getting ready to knock on Charlie's door anyway.

Charlie was talking to Leslie about his muscle injury when Diane walked off of the elevator. Diane recognized Leslie and gave a tight smile. "Hello Leslie."

Charlie could feel the tension. "Hello Diane. I've got to run Charlie; I just stopped by because I hadn't seen you in the gym for so long. I work this weekend but I'll see you later. Take care of yourself."

Once Charlie had Diane in the apartment, he started to ask a question. "Don't ask Charlie. Leslie is a good agent and anything I say beyond that would be gossip."

Don and Alan came out of the kitchen to greet their dinner guest.

Dinner was a nice affair. It was a little embarrassing for Charlie since both Alan and Diane seemed to have so much of Charlie's past moments embedded in their mind that needed to escape tonight.

He took a pain med and went to bed soon after Diane left.

--------------------

Don woke Charlie up.

"Come on Buddy. It's time to get up."

Charlie looked at the clock. "It's 7:00 Don, on a Saturday morning."

"Yeah come on Charlie, the day's wasting. Dad's making pancakes." Don was rooting through Charlie's dresser drawers. He tossed jeans, t-shirt and socks on the bed.

"All the more reason to sleep in."

"You need any help?"

"No" Charlie answered with a loud yawn. "I'm fine."

When Charlie came out of the bedroom, he hobbled to the table and sat down in the chair that was already pulled out. He took a drink of the OJ and eyed the plate of pancakes. Just as Charlie decided he would have to eat them, his dad came out with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast for him.

"Why is he having eggs Dad?"

"Charlie informed me that he does not like pancakes."

Don looked at Charlie, clearly surprised. "Since when?"

Charlie really did not want to discuss the pancakes. He wished he had never mentioned them. "Game starts at 9:30."

Don and Charlie left the apartment as soon as they finished eating. They would be early for the game but they could hang out on bleachers and Don was hoping Charlie would want to talk. There were several players on the field warming up.

Charlie led the way to the empty bleachers. They were on the 3rd base line and he sat up four rows, he was on the edge and Don sat next to him. Charlie had brought several bottles of water in a carry insulated pack. He took one bottle out and set the pack on the seat in front of him and propped his leg right on top of the bag so his foot could lean over and not have pressure on the calf. The crutches were propped just behind Charlie's foot, in reaching distance.

It was going to be a warm day and Charlie wished he had brought the baseball cap that was in one of the many bags that is father brought. He decided he would probably keep the cap and that umbrella.

Don noticed that Charlie look nervous and was pretty sure he was working his way up to saying something. It didn't take long for Charlie to start talking.

"Don, I have something that I need to say and I'm sorry if it looked like I was just avoiding the issue."

Don nearly held his breath. He had hoped that Charlie would talk to him today but he did not think he would without more coaxing and he was also a little afraid that he may not be ready for what Charlie wanted to say.

"I told you that I wasn't ready; that I need more time. That's really true. This has been such a tough time for me. I don't know the answers because I haven't been able to address the real issue. I had hoped for more time to work things out in my head."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I rushed you Buddy. It was important to me. I had to talk to you now."

The teams were gathering now. The bleachers closer to home plate were beginning to fill.

"You know I was near panic when I saw you standing there in the airport. But I did accept that you were here and I was ready to get along as best we could and then let you go home with Dad this weekend. I've known you all my life; we could get along at the worst of times when we had to."

"I didn't think you were going to be all that happy with me Charlie, but you kept it together pretty good, let me rephrase; you handled it pretty good."

Charlie looked into Don's eyes and then started. "Don, those things you said, they meant a lot to me. I've never known you to open up like that. But…" Charlie hesitated "I feel like you have me backed into a corner and I have to make this okay now because you bared your soul. G-- Don, I've waited all my life to hear what you said to me the other night." There were tears in Charlie's eyes and he had to look away.

"Why now? Why now when I am trying to put myself back together? Because that's what happened, I lost it; I fell apart. I don't even know how I survived. I was more scared than I had ever been, hanging on by just the barest of threads, and…and then you turned on Don, when I needed you the most, you turned on me. I couldn't deal with your anger on top of everything else."

"I came here to get away. I had to do this for me, to save myself. If I hadn't had a place to run to, I don't think I would even be alive. Bob save my life Don. Bottom line, one way or another my life was over if I hadn't left." Charlie wiped his eyes and continued.

"I don't mean it to sound like I blame you for my downfall. I don't. It was my fault that I needed you so much. I need to learn how to depend on me more. I need this for myself."

Don had tears in his eyes too. "G--, I'm sorry Buddy."

Charlie looked at his brother. He had anger in his eyes. "No Don! Stop saying that. I did this! I'm not trying to put more guilt on you. Everything is not your fault. I need to be a stronger person. I need to find a life outside of math. I need to find a way to cope when things are bad."

"Before I left I couldn't even escape the one way I was used to, the garage. There was no time for the only thing that had ever been my outlet before. I couldn't take more time away from my students to make that escape."

"These recruit courses I'm taking, they're helping me. But I haven't had enough time. Running relaxes my mind, it's an outlet that I needed. I'm taking Tae Kwon Do, the instructor says I'm a natural but the training is something I have never learned before. It's self discipline and controlling your thoughts, I've never learned how to control my thoughts and I need this class, I need this time on my own. It's really about growing up."

"Don, I'm going to come back home. I going to teach again, but first I have to do this. It's too easy to fall into old patterns at home. I have the time now and I have the distance I need."

"You're a very strong person. You have a strong personality. You're the type that can light up a room by just being there. I have always wished I could be more like you. I love you Don, I'm sorry that I can't give you the answers that you're looking for because I don't know what they are."

"I can't even think of where we go from here, I can't think about anything but what I need right now. You and Dad are very important to me. You guys are my life, but I'm a grown man and I shouldn't have to depend on either of you for my emotional support."

Charlie wiped at his eyes again and he reached for a water bottle sitting by his feet. Don was deep in thought. Charlie took the cap off the water bottle and tipped his head back for a long drink. Just then came the loud crash of bat meeting ball and to Don's horror, it was a foul and fast ball and the ball was directed right at Charlie's unprotected throat. It was slow motion and Don was frozen in place.


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I don't own the Numb3rs characters

A/N - A big thank you to Jo, my favorite Aunt for some assistance on the dynamics of injury probability in this chapter

Just then came the loud crash of bat meeting ball and to Don's horror, it was a foul and fast ball and the ball was directed right at Charlie's unprotected throat. It was slow motion and Don was frozen in place.

'_Move'_ his brain was screaming at him '_Dammit Move_!' Don's body could not respond to his mind's orders. Just fractions of a second before the point of impact Don threw his right hand up to try to stop the ball. He was amazed that the entire scene stayed in slow motion. Charlie's head was on its way back down. The ball slammed into his hand and bounced off. Don felt a sharp pain in his forefinger and all the way to his elbow. The force caused the back of Don's hand to slam into Charlie's face with the same speed. There was another sharp pain in his hand upon impact. Don could tell that Charlie was already unconscious before his limp body fell from the bleacher to the ground below. He knew he would see this day in his nightmares, the details were so clear.

Don felt like his entire right hand was on fire. He hopped down to check on his brother. Charlie was laying on his right side. Don gently turned him onto his back. His nose and lower lip were bleeding and there was a rapidly forming bruise along his left jaw and another on his right forehead and not too far away from that were the stitches that were now torn and the torn pieces mixed with dirt and slowly seeping blood. Several people had gathered around as Don was checking Charlie's injuries. Someone gave him a bandana to use on Charlie's bleeding nose.

Agent Belmont had seen the destruction of the foul ball and ran to assist. "Is Dr. Eppes okay?"

Don looked up at the man who had kneeled down along this brother's other side. "We have paramedics already on the scene. We've needed them several times this season," he told Don.

The paramedics were hurrying to the unconscious form lying near the bleachers in the dirt. Agent Belmont and Don backed away. "I assume you already know Charlie, I'm his brother Don Eppes."

"Agent Troy Belmont, instructor at NSA."

Agent Belmont looked at Don's hand. "Are you okay? I saw what happened and I'm sure you hand needs to be checked out."

"Yeah, I'll have it checked when the paramedics let me know how Charlie is."

Agent Belmont said he would be right back. He ran near the umpire and spoke to him and a few members of his team and then returned to Don.

"I have a stand in for me so that I can go along with you."

At Don's questioning glance, Agent Belmont told him "Director Thompkins values Dr. Eppes very much. I'm sure he would insist that someone from the NSA accompany him to the hospital and since I value hide, it better be me. I'll get Charlie's crutches and bag and I'll meet you at the emergency room."

Don followed the paramedics who were carrying his brother on a board to the ambulance. Charlie was still unconscious. Once they were in the ambulance, the paramedic took a look at Don's hand. There was at least one and maybe two broken fingers and a lot of bruising.

When the ambulance was moving Charlie showed signs of coming around. He could hear sirens and voices. He opened his eyes and did not recognize the face in front of him.

Charlie's first conscious thought was that Don had hit him. He had been talking to Don and then took a drink of water. That was what had he remembered. He noticed that he had a collar on. He tried to remember what happened. Did they fight again? Did something he said set Don off and Don hit him? That seemed highly unlikely. Don was pretty good about letting you know what he was mad about before he let loose. He wasn't a violent person normally.

Don was relieved that his brother was awake. He could tell that Charlie was confused and had no idea what was going on. He moved so that Charlie could see him. "Hey Buddy."

Charlie was relieved to see his brother. "Don?"

"What is it? Are you in pain?"

"Did we fight again?"

Don had to admit that he could see where Charlie would think that. He never even saw the ball.

"No Charlie, we didn't fight."

Charlie was thankful for that. "Then what happened? The last thing I remember was talking to you and drinking water."

"Foul ball Buddy; we stopped it together."

That would account for the pain in Charlie's face. His head hurt, his jaw throbbed. Was Don hurt too?

"You get hit?" He asked Don.

"Yeah, I hurt my hand."

Charlie remembered that he was drinking the water; Don's sudden movement on his left had startled him. That had caused him to stop drinking and had just been lowering his head back down.

The ambulance had reached the hospital. "Don? If I got hit in the jaw, why do I have this collar on?"

"That's just a precaution Charlie. They always do that."

"For getting faced with a ball?"

"You fell off the bleachers."

"We were only sitting four rows up. How hard could I have landed?"

"You were already unconscious when you fell. Limp bodies receive less damage so hopefully nothing else was hurt. It's only a precaution."

"I have a feeling the rest of the pain I feel in my face had something do with my being unconscious. That was one determined ball huh?"

Don laughed.

As Charlie was wheeled into an exam room, Don followed. The paramedic told the nurse who was with Charlie that this other walking passenger had at least one fractured finger.

Charlie couldn't see Don's hands. "Which hand Don?"

"Right."

Someone was shining light in Charlie's eyes. "I'm really sorry. I know you hate desk duty."

Don had not even thought of that. Once they had finished with Charlie in X-ray, it would be Don's turn. Charlie would also need an MRI. While he was waiting, Don called his father. He only told them there was an incident with a foul ball.

By the time Alan had gotten a cab and got to the hospital the doctor had the results of all the testing.

They were all in the exam room with Charlie. Charlie had a mild concussion, the stitches broke open when he fell on them and had been restitched. His lip would heal on its own; his nose was not broken, but there was broken cartilage and the membranes were swollen. His hairline fractured and very bruised jaw was from Don's wrist. Don's wrist was most defiantly sprained; he had a torn ligament. Don's right forefinger and middle finger were both broken. They would be splinted together. His total recovery time could be up to 8 weeks. The wrist was considered the most likely one to cause problems.

Charlie's aftercare required pain meds, someone to wake him when he slept tonight, soft foods and straws for his jaw and a check with a family physician if the swelling in his nose did not recede within 72 hours. While the membranes were swollen Charlie would have problems both talking and breathing through his nose. He figured he would be sounding like a duck. They were a banged up pair, but Charlie knew that he had been extremely lucky. It was almost a given that Don ahd saved his life.

The doctor spoke to Don about his recovery. Fractured fingers and sprained wrists with closed wounds were routinely splinted. With three joints on one hand Don would be handicapped as far as most normal activities went. The swelling of the joints, especially his wrist did not allow for another option. Due to the location of the finger fractures, the doctor had opted for metal splinting for those. It was more cumbersome but a better chance of protection of both fingers. The splint on his wrist would be a fiberglass base that was equally as cumbersome but more comfortable. The joints would be splinted completely immobile and since Don was right handed he would need to relearn a lot of his normal day to day activities and find short cuts in his life. He would need to keep his wrist elevated and use ice a in the next 48 hours.

The doctor told Don that he could not return to his normal occupation for at least eight weeks and even though Don had been warned and knew it was coming it was a blow that he could not hide from his family. Eight weeks of desk duty. Eight weeks of no driving and most of all eight weeks of being dependant on his father.

As Charlie and Don were both cleared to go, Agent Belmont offered to drive the three of them to the ball field so that they could get Charlie's car. Alan was the only one of them that could drive.

As they exited the hospital, Alan walked ahead with Agent Belmont while Charlie and Don were following further behind. Don looked over at his brother. Charlie was again hobbling on his crutches. He was a little nervous that Don might blame him for this. Don had gotten hurt because Charlie was not paying attention again. Don said "There's humor in this somewhere Buddy, I know there is and I may even see it when I'm like seventy years old."

"I really am sorry Don."

"Nobody's fault Charlie, just a freak accident. You're pretty banged up yourself and it could've worse. It terrifies me to think of how much worse," Don said with a serious look on his face. His expression changed to one of mischief. "I don't want to worry you or anything but I do believe that you're going to have another black eye tomorrow on top of all those other pretty bruises on your face." Don laughed at the startled look on his Charlie's face.

"I'll have to hide out for a week." Charlie looked down at the ground for a few seconds and then looked up into Don's eyes. "Thanks Don; thanks for being there when I needed you." He couldn't help smiling at Don's expression.

Ironic as it seemed it turned out to be a good day after all.

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	23. Chapter 23

Disclaimer: I do not own the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 23

When they got back to the apartment, the first thing Dr. Dad did was have Don sit in the most comfortable chair in the living room with a few pillows under his arm. He was reclined back.

He had Charlie sitting on the couch and came back in with two pillows. He fluffed the pillows and propped them on the arm of the couch. Alan opened the bag that they had just gotten from the pharmacy. Don and Charlie looked at each other. Dad was in his glory caring for both of his sons at once. Alan went into the kitchen and returned with two bottles of water. There were two bottles of medication for Don and three new medications and the muscle relaxer for Charlie. He opened and distributed the medication to each son.

"Charlie, I thought you said that you already had straws here. I didn't see any."

"They're in that drawer over there." Charlie was pointing toward the small table near the front door.

Alan opened the drawer. He rummaged through a few odds and ends. There was a spare car key, a box of chalk, lots of paper, packages of batteries, two CDs, nail clippers, a map and finally in the back, Alan located two fast food wrapped straws; one was bent at a angle. He was holding the two straws in his hand when he turned around and Don laughed. Charlie had insisted that Alan did not need to make an extra stop for straws since he already had some at home.

Alan rolled his eyes and unwrapped the good straw. He handed it to Charlie and told him to take the medicine. When Charlie was done, Alan took the water bottle, set it on the coffee table and asked Charlie to lie down. After turning the TV on and handing the remote to Don, Alan headed for the kitchen again. He had all six bottles of medication in his hands.

He wasn't gone thirty seconds and came back into the room to see if Charlie wanted tomato or chicken noodle soup for lunch. All he saw was the back of one of Charlie's crutches disappearing around the doorway. "What's he doing?" he asked Don.

"I don't know but he said he had to hurry before you came back."

Alan went to the doorway. Maybe Charlie had decided he would be more comfortable in bed. He did not see Charlie. Alan went back out and searched the bathroom. Where did go? Alan went back into the bedroom and this time although he did not see Charlie, he could hear him. Alan walked to the far side of the bed, following the muttering and Charlie was down flat on the floor and reaching for something under the bed. The crutches were laying beside him.

"Charlie, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting the extension cord for the laptop. Battery's dead."

"Son, you need to lie down. You have a concussion. Come on; let me help you get back to the couch. I'll make you some soup and then you're taking a nap. I don't care if you sleep here or in the living room, but you will sleep."

Charlie came out from under the bed with the needed cord in his hand.

Alan assisted Charlie to his feet and handed him the crutches. He followed Charlie back out to the living room. Don had found a movie to watch. Alan stood over Charlie while he lay back down.

"Now do you want tomato soup or chicken noodle?"

"Either one is fine Dad."

"Don? Soup and sandwich okay with you?"

"Sounds good."

Alan went to the kitchen. After a minute he was back in to ask Don if he preferred turkey or roast beef and stopped mid sentence when he noticed that Charlie was once again missing.

"I told him not to chance it Dad."

Just then Charlie emerged from around the corner with his notes in his hand.

"Charlie, get back on that couch and stay put. Why didn't you ask me for those when we were in there last time?" Alan had taken the notes and set them on the coffee table so that Charlie could reach them.

"Sorry, I didn't think of it then. I have everything I need now."

"I offered to go get them for you." Don added.

"Yeah but by the time I explained what notes I needed, I could have gotten them myself."

After Charlie was again lying down Alan asked if Don wanted turkey or roast beef. Don said he would rather have turkey and Alan returned to the kitchen.

Their dad came back in with two hot bowls of soup. He set one near Don's left hand on the end table and was getting ready to set one on the other end table near Charlie when he noticed that Charlie had moved. He was now leaning against the other arm of the couch.

"There was a glare over there."

Alan set the soup on the end table and went to where Charlie was now positioned. He pulled the coffee table over near Charlie and returned to set the soup on the table. "Charlie, you need to eat this soup now. That medication might upset your stomach if it's empty."

Charlie set his notes and laptop aside. It was an awkward angle but he was able to get the soup from the bowl to his mouth without spilling it. He had to take small sips from the front of his spoon. It was an annoying slurp but his dad knew Charlie's jaw had to hurt. Alan returned with Don's sandwich only to find that Don had already fallen asleep. His left hand awkwardly holding a spoon that did not look like it had even made it to the soup bowl. He probably should have skipped the soup for Don and just brought the sandwich. Alan gently pried the spoon from Don's hand. He turned off the TV and returned the food to the kitchen.

He wrapped Don's lunch up for later. The pain medication should make Charlie tired soon. The new pain medication was still a narcotic, but was stronger than the one for his leg had been. Charlie might be fighting it now, but Alan knew he would be asleep soon. He planned to run out for straws, pudding and more soup for Charlie as soon as both sons were asleep. After eating a sandwich and straightening up the kitchen, Alan returned to the living room.

Charlie was sleeping. His notes had fallen to the floor and his laptop was leaning that way as well. Alan set the laptop and notes on the coffee table and moved the coffee table back. He put his hand to Charlie's forehead and it was warm. The doctor had said to expect fever. He got a blanket and covered Charlie. Alan checked Don's forehead and his felt normal. He repositioned his arm better on the pillows, took Charlie's half empty bowl back to the kitchen, got the keys and quietly left the apartment.

---------------------------------------------------------

Don and Charlie were sitting in the bleachers. The sound of the bat meeting the ball sent his whole body into a shock. He looked over and knew that the ball was heading for Charlie. Charlie was drinking a bottle of water. Don was screaming at him. He couldn't move his arms. Someone was holding his arms. Why couldn't Charlie hear him screaming? That someone that was holding Don's arms screamed into his left ear. "What's the big deal Eppes? "He's just a consultant, nothing more." Don turned his head and was looking into the eyes of James Andrews, the LA child killer. "NO!" Don struggled and the ball was moving toward his brother but so slowly. Just when Don had managed to free his right hand, the ball slammed into Charlie's throat. Don was standing in horror looking at the blood splashing out of his brother's throat. Charlie opened his eyes and he had tears in them. Don could hear the words so clearly. 'You turned on me Don.'

'NO! Charlie! NO! I'M SORRY! NO!

-----------------------------------------

"Charlie!"

Charlie awoke to someone screaming his name again and it felt like déjà vu. But this time the scream sounded like it was nothing but agony. Charlie raised his head and looked around. Don was sitting in the chair. He screamed "NO". Charlie got up and went to his brother. Don was obviously having a bad dream. The chair was reclined back so Charlie shook Don by his left arm. He reacted violently to the touch on his arm. "LET ME GO!"

"CHARLIE, I'M SORRY!"

"Don, Don, wake up. It's just a dream. Wake up."

His breathing was fast and labored. Charlie shook him by his leg this time and Don's eyes opened. "Charlie" His voice cracked. Realization came over him then. Don set the chair down. "Oh My G-- Charlie." Charlie squatted down so he was in front of his brother.

"It was just a dream." Charlie was startled when Don grabbed him around the shoulders and neck. This put any hug Charlie had ever had to shame. He was holding him tightly and kept saying he was so sorry. Charlie could feel his brother's heart pounding.

"It's okay Don. Everything's okay now. It was just a bad dream."

Don would not let him go. Charlie's calf was hurting now as well as his jaw where it was being squeezed up against his brother's shoulder.

"Let's move to the couch and you can tell me about it." Don just kept saying he was sorry. "Please Don." Charlie felt like his jaw would shatter. He tried to pull gently away. Don was not turning him loose and Charlie knew he had to tell his brother or risk a broken jaw and picturing those wires they would have to put in pushed him forward. "Don you're hurting me."

The words shocked Don into motion. He immediately pulled his arms from Charlie and Charlie fell to the floor. He jaw was throbbing, his leg was hurting and Charlie's stomach lurched. He tried to get up. "Help me to the bathroom. I'm gonna be sick."

Don had recovered and quickly helped Charlie to his feet. Don put his left arm around Charlie and led him to the bathroom, where Charlie bolted to the toilet and threw up. Charlie's jaw was screaming in agony and he put his hand to his jaw to have some support. He tried to hold the jaw so it wouldn't open so much. A few times just when he thought his stomach must be empty by now, it would lurch again. At first Don had just stayed back away from Charlie, but it was painful to hear Charlie so miserable and he moved closer and kneeled behind his brother and put his hand on Charlie's back. He rubbed with slow soothing motions like he had remembered his mother doing when he was a child.

By the time Charlie had stopped throwing up, he was crying from the pain in his jaw and shaking from his stomach's violent reaction. Don helped Charlie sit down on the bathroom floor. He flushed the toilet and got a wet washcloth for Charlie. Charlie had moved so that he could lean against the tub. He took the washcloth. The only cups in the bathroom were tiny paper cups but he gave his brother one of those with water. He told Charlie to rinse and spit.

Charlie's mouth was tight, the words unclear but Don made out enough to know that Charlie was not opening his mouth. Don told him he would be right back. He hurried to the living room for the bottle of water with the straw his brother had been using earlier. When he came back into the bathroom Charlie wasn't crying anymore but his eyes were watered. He looked like he was trying to hold his very jaw together. Don sat on the floor in front of Charlie and held out the bottle. Charlie shook his head and leaned his forehead down on his left upraised knee. This hurt his head more, but it relieved some of the pressure in his jaw. He could tell that his nose had swollen more and he had to open his mouth just the tiniest bit to breathe.

"You need to get off this floor and go back and lay down. Let me help you up Buddy."

His brother shook his head. Charlie felt like he hurt everywhere but the pain in his jaw was relentless.

After another few minutes Don said, "Charlie, look at me."

Charlie raised pain filled watered eyes. He still had his hand holding the bottom of his jaw. Don noticed that Charlie was really flushed. He leaned forward and felt Charlie's forehead. He was really warm.

"Come on Buddy; let me help you back to the couch."

Again Charlie shook his head and settled his forehead back on his knee. His head started spinning and his stomach lurched again. He knew there was nothing left in his stomach and hoped it would settle. He straightened up his head and back and took as deep of breathes as he could with just barely opening his mouth. Charlie's eyes were closed and he was trying to control his nausea.

A few minutes later his stomach had settled and he opened his eyes. Don was still seated in front of him and looked very concerned. "Ready for that trip back to the living room?"

Charlie nodded and using his left leg and the tub to hold onto, raised himself to a standing position. He wanted to ask for his crutches but he did not intend to open his mouth. Don assisted Charlie out of the bathroom and back to the couch. Charlie sat down and leaned his head back. His eyes were closed.

"Here, take a drink of water, your throat's got to be burning."

Charlie took the bottle from Don and took a small sip from the straw. He did not want to open his mouth and right now, he did not want anything in his stomach either. Charlie had sat with his body straight and rigid. He head was leaned back and tipped onto the back of the couch. His eyes were staring at the ceiling. Now that he could see his brother's jaw better the bruising had darkened and was from just under his lower left lip and extended about two thirds of the way along his jaw line toward his ear.

Don set the water bottle back down on the table and sat on the couch beside Charlie. Charlie was having problems breathing in that awkward position.

"Come on Charlie, lay down. It'll be easier to breathe that way. Don grabbed a pillow and propped it on his own thigh, "here turn around and just lay your head down". He really did not want to lie down but this position was not helping him either. He lay down and had his right leg propped on the arm of the couch and his head on the pillow that Don had put there for him. Lying like this was better but it did not relieve the pressure of his jaw. Charlie turned on his right side and returned his head to the pillow. He was lying on his bruised forehead he knew but his jaw felt a lot better. This seemed to be the most painless position and he was asleep in just a few minutes.

Don brushed the damp curls off Charlie's forehead and felt for fever. It didn't seem any worse than it had been earlier but still too warm. He could not reach a blanket to cover Charlie with. It was bunched under Charlie's feet. Don leaned his head back on the couch. He brushed the curls from the rest of Charlie's face and he said a little prayer of thanks that his brother was still here. He lightly traced the bruise on his jaw and than Don closed his eyes.

When Alan came back he found that both sons had moved this time, but they were asleep. Don had his good hand protectively on his brother's jaw. Charlie was curled up on his right side, his head on a pillow that was leaning on Don's leg. He had to admit they did look comfortable. He got the pillows from the chair and carefully propped Don's right hand and then got two blankets, covered them and went into the kitchen to put away the groceries.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

'_You turned on me Don'_

He awoke with a start. He didn't think that he had had a nightmare again. He could just hear Charlie talking. Don looked to his left side where Charlie still lay. He was still sleeping, lying curled on his right side but now both of them had blankets over them. He also noticed that while he had slept, his father had attached an ice pack to his right wrist and propped his hand again.

Betrayal. That was a hard hurt to get over. It was one that could cut to the very heart and destroy a lifetime of trust. One senseless action could destroy something so important. Had Don really betrayed Charlie? If he had he may have lost Charlie's trust and Don wasn't so sure that he would be able to earn it back in his lifetime. The night of the fight when his brother had walked away from him, he knew something had died in Charlie. He could not put a name on it at the time but he knew what it was now.

When he called his brother about the case that he had needed help with after the child killer was jailed, it was a fraud case. It was not a life and death case. Why had Don allowed such a minor case to destroy what he and Charlie had been building on for more than two years? Why had he not seen then that Charlie was already too overworked to help? Why had he not seen the hurt that he had caused with his actions at that time and stopped it before it got out of hand?

When Don told Charlie that he was proud to be his brother and that he was also his friend, these were not newfound realizations. Charlie had been just as important to him before the child killer case as he was now. Certainly Don could see more clearly now just how important, but the feelings were there before the case just the same. So why did it seem that Charlie's feelings, his job, his well being no longer mattered. Somehow during the last case they worked on together, Don had completely lost sight of Charlie.

He thought back to what he had discussed with Megan. Was it that he felt Charlie owed him something back for that case? If anything Don had always been harder on himself than anyone, it just wasn't like him to dump the blame on anyone else when a case was tough. One thing Don had to face, for whatever reason he had carried those thoughts from the last case over to not only that next case but to his own relationship with his brother. For whatever reason Don had decided to punish Charlie for something that was completely out of Charlie's control.

Earlier today Charlie had thought Don was mad at him over that foul ball, again something completely out of Charlie's control. Don had never even considered blaming anyone for the accident, much less Charlie. Why would his brother even consider that he would do such a thing? Had Don destroyed the very trust that was so vital to their relationship?

Charlie shifted his head and moved slightly onto his back before again settling on his side. His little brother was a mess. All of the bruises were darker than they had been earlier and were likely going to be darker still by morning. Sure enough that was a black eye. '_Did we fight again?' _Charlie remembered nearly nothing between talking and waking up in an ambulance. It wasn't like Charlie was used to fighting with anyone, it wasn't like Don and he had ever had a physical fight before that night in his classroom. They'd had plenty of arguments over the years but never had either of them used violence toward each other. It wasn't a natural conclusion to jump to when you woke up injured that someone that was supposed to care about you was the cause of your injuries.

Between Charlie thinking Don would be mad at him for his hand injuries and Charlie's first words in the ambulance, Don had to accept that Charlie no longer trusted him and that was a painful blow. '_Buddy, how am I going to fix this?'_

Don heard his father come back into the room. He had a crossword puzzle book in his hand and had probably been sitting in the kitchen so he did not disturb his patients.

"You're not the son that I am supposed to be waking up every few hours. How does your hand feel?"

"It's feels cold Dad. The ice has me a little numbed."

"Do you want that sandwich now?" Alan asked. "It's wrapped up in the refrigerator."

"No, I'll wait for a little while. I don't want to disturb Charlie just yet."

"I could hold the pillow while you move away and if I slip another pillow under there, he won't even notice. You know how he is when he sleeps. Besides we're going to have to wake him soon anyway."

"Okay, I am hungry."

Alan held the pillow while Don eased out from under his brother's head. He had the other pillow ready and slid it under. Charlie hadn't moved.

His dad set the turkey sandwich and a soda out on the table for Don.

While Don ate Alan talked. "Don, we need to discuss changing our travel plans. I would like to change the tickets until next Sunday. I hate the thought of leaving Charlie alone when he needs us."

Don had already been thinking about that. He had plenty of vacation time built up at work and he was in no rush to return to work only to be put on desk duty.

"I'm waiting to hear what your thoughts are on the subject before I change anything. By this time next week he'll be fine but you have eight weeks of recovery ahead of you and I won't abandon you in LA alone."

Don was not sure how his brother would react to them staying longer. It's true that Charlie had taken care of himself pretty good on his own but that was before the multiple injuries that he now had. If they had left as planned Don knew that both he and his dad would feel they were abandoning Charlie.

"I agree that we should stay another week Dad, but Charlie may have his own thoughts on that."

"Well, there are two things I know for sure about your brother. The first is that Charlie will not admit that he wants us to stay, and second, I know that he would not be the least bit surprised that I'm changing the date without notice to him."

Don laughed.

"After I call the airline to change my ticket, you can talk to them and change yours. Then we have to go in there and ONE of us has to wake your little brother up. Get him talking, give him his medications and then let him go back to sleep before he gets too cranky."

Alan placed the call and after changing his tickets, he handed the phone to Don. Don walked into the bedroom to talk. His father was getting ready to try to wake Charlie and Don did not want to be overheard.

When he came back out of the bedroom, Alan was sitting on the chair in the living room. He was watching Charlie sleep. Don sat is the other chair. "What are you waiting for?"

"Poor Charlie, his entire face is battered."

"He'll heal up fine Dad; we'll take care of him. He was in a lot of pain earlier with that jaw though."

Don pushed the coffee table back and sat right in front of Charlie. "Hey Buddy, wake up." He was afraid to jostle him unless he had to in order to get him awake. "Time to get up." No reaction. "Hey, Dad wants to see those big brown eyes Charlie, wake up."

Don put his hand on Charlie's forehead. "He's really hot. Charlie, time to wake up now." Don turned toward his dad. "Maybe you better try it Dad, you usually have better luck."

Don was not prepared for it. When his Dad yelled "Charlie", both he and Charlie jumped. His dad had not even moved from the chair. Charlie's reaction after he jumped was to slowly come around.

"The doctor said to expect fever for the first twenty four hours." Alan got up and put his hand on Charlie's forehead. "He's a lot warmer than when I left, but I don't think it's all that high. I should have picked up a thermometer."

Before he opened his eyes, Charlie knew that his dad was standing somewhere close but he was unprepared for Don to be sitting less than a foot in front of his face and he jumped and scooted back. "dom Don ew therd the hell otta e." He noticed pretty quickly that it still hurt to move his jaw.

Don moved back to give his brother some space. Charlie took the pillow that he had been laying on and moved it back to the arm of the couch and he laid back down. He really did not want to talk but no one else was saying anything. "Ded ew eed zoben Dad?"

Don and Alan looked at each other. Alan was clearly waiting for a translation from Don.

"Don't look at me, he asked you."

"Think he's asking for something to eat?" Alan asked in a low voice. Don shrugged.

Charlie was getting a little irritated that they were acting like he was a monkey on display and they were talking about him.

"We were supposed to find out if he was coherent when we woke him to check on him. How do we know?" Don asked his dad.

"How many fingers Charlie?" Don held up both hands.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "Tat demons do the broook wues cout ath od or do."

"Close enough" Alan decided. "Charlie, just shake your head yes or no. Are you hungry?"

Charlie shook his head.

"I'll get you more medicine and you'll need to eat something before you go back to sleep."

Charlie had a lot to say to that. He decided that now was probably not the time to say it though. "I wath leepin"

Alan went to get medications for both sons.

Don could not resist commenting on Charlie's nose. "Charlie you would be shocked to know that while you slept you morphed into an Alan Eppes clone. You should see your nose."

Charlie's eyes narrowed. Don probably thought he was pretty funny.

"Eye's black too, Buddy."

Charlie had already decided that he would save the pain in his jaw by not talking and he would be less amusing to his family. He decided to avoid any more than one word answers. Charlie got up and reached for his crutches. He hobbled into the bathroom and closed the door. Charlie was surprised at just how bad his face looked. Certainly looked worse than it felt, except his jaw.

Don had not really been exaggerating about his nose though. It did look like it belonged to their dad. He really should hide out for a while. The black around Charlie's eye was just that, black. This one did not have the red to break it up.

Charlie hobbled back out into the living room. Don was again back in the recliner with the pillows and now ice pack on his wrist. After laying down Charlie's cell phone rang.

Charlie reached for it and tossed it to Don. It was an awkward left hand catch.

Don answered "Hello? Hello Director Thompkins, its Don Eppes."

"Charlie has a cracked jaw and his nose is pretty swollen. It's really hard and painful for him to speak very clearly. But he's going to be fine in a few days."

Charlie looked happy with that explanation and nodded.

"Yes sir, just a minute" Don got up and handed the phone to Charlie. "He said don't talk, just listen."

Charlie took the phone. "Charlie, I just wanted to let you know that I want you to take all the recovery time you need. Agent Belmont said you were pretty messed up by that near miss."

Charlie really did not want any time off but he knew he would not be able to say so clearly. Charlie tried to say the one word. E-mol Bob.

"Okay Charlie, I'll watch for it. You take care and let me know if you need anything."

"Taks"

Charlie hung up the phone and right away started on that email.

Bob,

I can come to work on Monday. I want to work.

I can't talk well but I can still write fine. I plan to be there Monday and intend to make it to all of the classes except running.

Charlie

"Charlie!"

Charlie nearly jumped out of his skin when his dad had come up behind his shoulder and let that one word loose. He swung around and looked at this father was a questioning glance.

"You can just change that to Tuesday. The doctor said at least 72 hours and I'm holding you to that timeframe."

Charlie looked around for something to write with and not seeing anything, he cleared the email and typed for his father to read. 'I will be fine by Monday.'

"Tuesday Charlie and I am standing here until you change that and send the email."

Charlie typed again. 'It just looks painful. I can work just fine. I need to get back to work'.

"And you will, on Tuesday. This is not even open to discussion. And I doubt very much a doctor would agree that you can participate in the training classes that you're referring to so you might as well leave that line out."

'Not the running class, but I can do the rest'

"Charlie, unless you are sitting at a desk in a classroom during those training classes, you will not participate. You might be an adult but I am still your father and if I have to contact Director Thompkins to get some cooperation out of you, I certainly will."

Charlie rolled his eyes. He retyped the email message.

Bob,

I will be fine to return to work by Tuesday. Dr. Dad thinks Monday is too soon.

Charlie

"Thank you. Now, here are your medications and another bottle of water."

Charlie slid all four pills into his mouth and used the smallest sip of water out of the straw as he could to swallow them. He was too afraid to have anything else in his stomach. "I'll be back soon with some soup."

After his dad walked out of the room, Charlie looked over to see that Don had his eyes closed but from his breathing he was not asleep yet. Charlie got up in search of a pen to write with. He located one in the night stand in the bedroom. He wrote a short note and then took the paper back into the living room. By the time he had done all this Don was fast asleep. Charlie propped the page on the end table faced so Don could see it when he woke up.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 25

"Charlie, you WILL eat that soup. You've barely touched it."

Don woke to his father's agitation. Alan was standing over Charlie and his brother was looking ill.

"Dad, leave him alone. Can't you see he looks sick?"

"Donnie, he needs food in his stomach for the medication. He's sick because he didn't eat enough."

Charlie bolted off the couch. Don got up from the chair, Charlie fell just before he got to the bathroom. Don helped his brother up and into the bathroom and Charlie was back on his knees in front of the toilet throwing up again.

He was dizzy, his stomach hurt, his jaw was screaming in agony and Charlie just kept retching. He did not even have time to catch a breath. Before the episode was over Charlie was turning purple from lack of oxygen. He was crying again. While his back muscles were heaving, the rest of Charlie's body was trembling. Charlie thought that his jaw would break this time. The pain had spread further back now and nearly reached his ear. He was pretty sure that crack in his jaw was not the same size as when he was hit.

Don was feeling helpless, but rubbed his back again. It didn't seem like enough.

When Charlie was finished he sat on the floor. He was shaking, and was trying to control his crying and he was in about as much pain as he could ever recall. The pain medication was not doing any good and this last dose had not been in his stomach long enough.

Don helped him move to lean against the tub. Charlie folded his legs and had propped his elbow that was clutching his jaw on this left thigh. His head was hanging down. Charlie felt drained. Don squatted down in front of Charlie. He wiped his face with a wet wash cloth. "You can't take too much more of this."

Charlie did not want to be babied. He wanted his jaw to stop hurting. He wanted to stop throwing up, he did not want to eat and mostly he wanted to be alone. It's a good thing he couldn't talk very well because Charlie feared he was on the verge of whining. He wanted a shower, he wanted to brush his teeth and he wanted to fall into his bed and sleep for the rest of those twenty-four hours with no one waking him up.

Don looked at his watch. It was hard to believe that it had only been a little over nine hours since the foul ball was batted into the stands. He couldn't have been asleep more than twenty minutes.

Alan knocked on the door. "Charlie, are you okay?"

Don got up and pulled open the door. He looked at his dad in disbelief. "Dad, he's not okay. Why do you keep making him eat? Can't you hear him in here? Eating is not helping him, he's just going to throw it back up again."

"One of those medications has a warning sticker that says do not take on an empty stomach. His stomach is most defiantly empty now and a few bites might help."

"I can vouch for the fact that that very medication is not even in Charlie anymore. None of those medications were in his stomach long enough to do any good. So, the warning doesn't matter now."

Don motioned his dad aside and went into the hall to talk to him. "He only needs that pain medicine. That's the only vital one. But with his concussion he's thrown up everything you've made him eat. The one medication that he needs so desperately is not going to work if you make him eat and throw it back up again."

"Do you mean to tell me that Charlie was sick earlier and neither one of you even bothered to mention that to me?"

"I hadn't thought to mention it and Charlie's barely talked. I'm sorry about that. Give me some time alone with him and I don't want to see another bowl of soup anywhere near him until he asks for it. Please Dad, Charlie will tell you when he's hungry."

Don turned to go back into the bathroom. The door was blocked. He knocked. "Charlie, its Don can I come in?" The barrier in front of the door was gone. Don opened the door. Charlie was laying on his bck on the floor with his feet up against the door. The look on his face was heartbreaking. Charlie was in pain, he looked scared, a little bit of panic even. He looked like he expected Alan to follow Don in with a bowl of soup in his hand.

"Want me to lock it?"

Charlie nodded.

"You don't look very comfortable." Charlie was clutching at his jaw. His right arm cushioning his head. He was the very picture of misery.

Don got two folded and fluffy towels and put them under Charlie's head. He sat down in front of his brother. Charlie's hand was clutching his jaw so hard that his nails were digging into the skin above his jaw line. Don gently removed his hand from his jaw, no easy feat because he was clamped on tight.

"Buddy, I know you hurt, I know you're sick and right now you're probably about as miserable as you've ever been but you need to be laying down on something softer than this bathroom floor."

Charlie shook his head.

"Charlie?"

Charlie looked up at Don.

"Are we hiding?"

Charlie nodded

Don couldn't stop the smile at that.

"We going to hide in here the rest of the day?"

Charlie smiled.

"What about Dad?" The look on Charlie's face made it clear that Charlie was not concerned about that at all.

"You and I, we can live in here for days but Dad will need this bathroom long before that."

Charlie was trying to stop the smile that was breaking out on his face. The last thing he wanted was to laugh.

"Oh I know, there's a bathroom off that gym downstairs, I'll give him the directions."

Charlie covered his face with his hands, he'd kill Don if he made him laugh.

Don decided humor probably was not a good idea now and changed the subject.

"Look I think I know what you want. You want to go to bed and sleep and you want Dad to leave you alone. Am I right?"

Charlie nodded.

"Well, now that could be a problem. If it were just me, I'd let you do just that Buddy, but Dad is a whole other story. He's got this Dad thing down pat Charlie and no matter how old we get, as long as Dad's around, he's probably not going to be any other way. He has this tunnel vision with following the directions to the letter. You have to be woke up, you have to eat, you have to drink and you have to take your medication. I promise I'll do all I can to get him to ease up a little."

"Tell you what, let me help you do what you need to do and then I'll help you to bed. I'll hold him back as long as I can. He's bigger than me Charlie, but I'm tougher."

Charlie had to smile at that. His dad, the mama bear against his brother, the cougar. Charlie nodded and put his hand on the tub to get up. Don helped him to his feet and had him propped up against the wall.

"I'll get some sweat pants for you to change into. Is there anything else you need?"

Charlie nodded and pointed at the shower. "You can't stand alone to take a shower and I won't let you try. How about soap, a washcloth, the bathroom sink, your crutches and some privacy?"

Charlie nodded. Don left and after closing the bathroom door again so that his dad would not go back in, Don went to the bedroom for the sweatpants and boxers that Charlie would need. His brother usually went to bed shirtless and Don decided that if Charlie wanted to wear a shirt he would get one. Even though he had a fever and might feel chilled Charlie needed to feel he was somewhat still in charge of his life.

After getting everything Charlie would need and putting them all within easy reaching distance, Don told him to yell if he needed anything before closing the door. Now to tackle his dad.

When Don got into the kitchen his dad taking a meat loaf out of the oven. "Since it's just me and you Dad, how about we just eat here. I'll get the dishes off the dining room table and be right back. All Alan had set so far was the plates and silverware so, even with one hand it only took one trip.

While his dad was getting some green beans out off the stove Don started his fast put together speech.

"Dad, Charlie's going through a pretty rough time. It's hard enough to be sick without having to put up with some rules that should be more flexible."

"Believe it or not Don, I was trying to avoid his getting sick by making him eat."

"I know you were. But if the effects of the concussion are going to be over in twenty four hours anyway, why not just let him go through those twenty-four hours without making him put something in his stomach that's not going to stay there."

"That medication; I know doctor gave it to him and that he needs it by why not let him wait until tomorrow afternoon to take anymore other than that pain medicine. Again, its just going to come back up. None of his injuries are life threatening. He will not die by morning if he misses his next dose."

"One last request, Charlie needs to be left alone so that he can sleep and heal. I'll help him get to bed but once I close that door, we leave him alone for the night. It's a mild concussion; the odds are in his favor. Charlie will be fine Dad if he doesn't have to throw up again. He just needs a pain pill and to be left alone. Sleep is what he needs most. Tomorrow you can start in on him about eating and his other medications."

A slow smile came to Alan's face. He did not interrupt when Don was talking. He wanted to let Don have his say. "Okay Donnie, I agree to your proposition."

It was too easy. It showed on his face. "You do?"

"Yes and I want to add that I'm proud of you for coming to your brother's aid. I probably should have thought of those things myself. Now, how about you go see if Charlie's done with whatever you left him alone to do and help him to bed. Your dinner's going to get cold."

Don had not completely recovered from his shock when he got back to the closed bathroom door. He knocked lightly and then entered. Charlie was standing in front of the bathroom sink, he was in his sweats and his hair was wet. That must have been some thorough sponge bath.

Brushing his teeth had not been easy and Charlie had not done a good job of it but they felt much better now. He wadded up all of the dirty laundry and handed it to Don for the hamper. Then he got his crutches and hobbled out of the room.

After he took a pain pill and was lying in bed, Don tested Charlie's forehead, trying not to be obvious about it. Still warm, but not as hot as it was. "Good night Buddy. You may have to yell if you need anything because Dad has agreed to leave you be tonight."

"Taks Don."

"No problem."

Don left the room and returned to the kitchen where his dad was waiting.

"Everything go okay?"

"It went just fine. He'll probably feel 100 percent better in the morning. I checked, his fever's down and I think you'll probably be able to sneak in before you get to bed and check again, but I already told him that we would not bother him tonight."

"You did real good Donnie."

After they ate, Alan had Don back in the recliner with the ice, pillows and remote while he cleaned up.

Don looked over and saw a note in Charlie's handwriting.

'Don, Thanks for going above and beyond your brotherly duty. Charlie'

Don smiled and awkwardly folded the note and put it in his pocket.

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Don and Charlie were sitting in the bleachers. The sound of the bat meeting ball. Don knew that the ball was going to hit Charlie. He turned toward Charlie and Charlie wasn't there. Don looked around. He had a bat in his hand and he had just hit a foul ball in the very direction that his brother was sitting. While Don looked on in horror, the ball slammed into Charlie's throat and his brother toppled out of the bleachers. He could hear Charlie's voice. '_You turned on me Don_.'

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He woke up and he was sweating, but at least he had not yelled out. He had not woke his dad up. Don got up to get a drink of water and he could not resist peeking in and checking on Charlie. There wasn't much light to see with from just the streetlights outside. Charlie was laying on his right side and he was breathing with light snores.

Without a doubt, this had been the longest day of Don's life.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: I do not own the Numb3rs Characters

Chapter 26

The next day when Don woke up he could hear his dad in the kitchen talking. "You haven't given her much of a chance Charlie. She's a very nice woman. I admit she has a few issues but who doesn't anymore?"

Don could hear Charlie say something but it was too low for him to make it out.

"That's unfair. You could hardly tell that from the three minutes you spent in her presence."

Don entered the kitchen Charlie was sitting at the table with a glass of orange juice and a straw in front of him.

"The two of you just got off on a bad foot." Alan was not facing Charlie but Don could see the distaste on Charlie's face. Neither one of them liked the pushy woman. His dad could do much better. Sooner or later, Dad would see Pauline as she really was.

"Morning." Don paused and put his hand on Charlie's shoulder.

"Morning." Charlie answer. It was a nasally sound but at least Charlie's mouth was able to form the words today.

"Morning Donnie, how did you sleep?"

"Slept good Dad."

Don stepped over to the sink and removed his ice pack. The swelling had gone down pretty good overnight. The pain medication and ice seemed to be their job because it hardly hurt. There was a lot of discoloration around his fingers and over to top of the splint on his wrist. Three injuries to one hand were pretty unpleasant but at least none had resulted in a break that needed surgery to fix. He had been lucky that much at least. His father had propped two pillows under his hand before Don went to sleep last night.

The splints were cumbersome but Don knew he would get used to it soon. During his baseball years, he had had his fair share of splints.

"Charlie you look much better this morning. I don't guess I have to ask how you slept."

"I was out all night."

Alan said "And when I woke up this morning, he was already up and was shaving. One pain pill later and Charlie's even moving his jaw."

Charlie didn't want to eat anything but he did stay at the table with Don and Alan. Don knew that his brother had to have been told sometime earlier that they had extended their stay and since he did not seem to be in a bad mood, Don took that as a good sign.

Alan set Don's plate on the table. He then picked up a knife and cut each piece of french toast into at least fifty tiny pieces. Don looked at Charlie and his brother was holding in a laugh. Charlie had his hand over his mouth to stop it. Don rolled his eyes at Charlie. Finally Alan had finished the massacre of his breakfast and set it in front of Don. "Next time Dad, save yourself some time and just throw the thing in the blender."

The laugh that Charlie had been holding back came out now. It was good to hear Charlie laugh again. Don and Alan both smiled at the sound and Don got up to get a spoon for his breakfast.

When they finished eating Don went to take a shower while their Dad did the dishes. Charlie sat with his lap top in the living room. He hoped that he would be done with the program when he returned to the office on Tuesday.

After Alan had secured a fresh ice pack to his wrist, Don turned on the TV. There was a special news report on.

A New York Senator, Douglas Atwood had been found murdered in Washington DC early this morning. He'd only gotten to town yesterday. FBI had no comment on possible suspects or cause of death. The newscaster than changed over to other headline news items of the day.

A few hours later Charlie woke up from a drug induced nap. He found himself alone in the apartment. There was a note on the coffee table from his dad that said that he and Don had gone to do some shopping and would be back soon.

Charlie thought this was a good time to get some fresh air. He changed into some jeans and hobbled out of the apartment. When the elevator doors opened on the first floor Charlie was surprised to see that there were three agents in front of him. After he stepped off the elevator, they all stepped on and the door closed. Just as Charlie got to the front door, another agent was buzzed in. He held the door for Charlie to exit first.

"Car accident?"

"Foul ball."

Charlie started to head out the door when the next question stopped him in his tracks.

"Did your brother's flight get off okay?" The agent was average height with a military hair cut. He had a mustache and hazel eyes and Charlie knew he had never seen him before. How could this man know that Charlie had a brother that was supposed to have left town?

"Excuse me?"

"I'm a friend of Don's. My name's Derek Collins."

"How did you know Don was my brother?"

The agent looked to be scrambling for an answer. "Uh, a photo. I saw a photo once of the two of you together."

The man was not a good liar. "Oh. No, Don's staying an extra week."

"Well, that's good news for me. I'll call him. Take Care."

Derek Collins, FBI agent of ten years stepped into the elevator wondering how he had just made such a rookie mistake. But, young Eppes did seem to believe his story.

Charlie sat on a bench outside the apartment building. There was an uncomfortable heavy heat today but he was just happy to be out.

His dad had told him early this morning that he and Don would be staying another week. Charlie was not surprised by the announcement but he was surprised that the announcement did not seem to disappoint him. He and Don had come far in the short time they had spent together. He cared too much about his brother to ever hate him. Charlie had always known that he could never stay angry at Don. It wasn't the anger; it was the hurt that made Charlie decide he had to get away at that time. Here he had survived it and while the pain of it had not gone away, it was pushed more from surface now. He could keep it pushed down and he would go on with his life. He compared it to his recent injury. He may have cracked a little but Charlie did not break. He would get along with his brother, he would work at the changes he needed and life would continue.

He hadn't been sitting on the bench very long with one of the agents he had seen earlier came out of the building carrying a computer. It was loaded into the van that was parked at the side of the building. There was already an agent in the open van that Charlie had not noticed earlier. The same agent came back and again entered the building. Aaron must have unlocked the door because he just opened the door and walked in.

While Charlie was sitting there Don and Alan were walking up the sidewalk from the other direction. "Are you supposed to be walking around?"

"I'm sitting Dad."

"You should be sitting up in the apartment." His dad was carrying two grocery bags and Don had a shoe store bag in his hand.

While they were standing there Derek came out of the building and he was carrying a plastic bag that looked to be filled.

Don walked over to him. "Hey Derek, what's going on?"

"Hi Don, your brother told me you were still in town." Charlie was watching Don at this comment. But, Don had always had a pretty good poker face and gave nothing away.

"What happened to your hand?"

"Foul ball. What are you doing here?"

"We have a suspect for the Atwood murder living in this building. Third floor. We have a lot to do up there yet."

Don had motioned Derek away from his father and brother. Charlie was still able to hear them. "The suspect is a woman that he spent time with whenever he was in town. She's CIA"

Charlie knew they were talking about Leslie.

"You think it was personal or CIA involvement?"

"Too early to say. Her prints were all over the place but if the CIA is involved, this case will probably never even make it to court. No matter what we find, it will be dropped for lack of evidence. Personally I think a good agent would not have left any prints, but she's all we have so far."

Alan turned to Charlie. "Time to head back upstairs. It's hot out here."

Alan took the shoe bag from Don and motioned for Charlie to get moving. After helping Alan put the groceries away Charlie took another pain pill and went to the bedroom to change. He wanted to head to the roof for a swim.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Dad, this is getting to be a little much. I'm just going to the roof for a quick swim. I'll be back in about fifteen minutes."

"You're not supposed to even be on your leg, whether it's in a pool or on dry land and that medication is suppose to make you drowsy. Don't you read labels?"

"I'm not operating any machinery more dangerous than an elevator. I'll be fine and will be back before you know it."

Since it was a weekend and so hot, there were several people already in the pool.

Charlie did not swim, conserving his leg until he could try walking without the crutches tomorrow. He just wanted to spend some time in the water. Charlie had been thinking about Leslie. He was surprised to learn that she was a murder suspect. He was pretty sure she would not have done something as stupid as kill someone and leave evidence. What did he really know about her though? Very little. They talked about movies and music. Neither had talked about their work. They were just hiking buddies really. She seemed to be a nice girl, they got along good, but Charlie realized he didn't know her at all.

When Charlie returned from the roof, Don still had not gotten back. Charlie hoped that that meant that he had visited Leslie's apartment and he may have some information to share.

Charlie had changed back into his jeans and walked into the living room. He intended to spend a few hours working on the program. "Charlie, I'm making chicken stew for dinner this evening. Are you going to eat any?"

"Dad, that's more than three hours from now. Can I keep you posted?"

"It would make it easier to have an answer now. You like vegetables more than Don does and I can have an idea of how to make it."

"I can promise you that if I eat it at all, I am not chewing one vegetable. Just make it the way Don likes it. Since you almost always serve it with mashed potatoes, if I eat anything it will be the potatoes."

Charlie noticed that his dad was looking at something over his shoulder. He turned and was met with an angry glare from his brother.

It was obvious he was pretty mad about something and there was no doubt about who he was angry at.


	27. Chapter 27

Disclaimer: I do not own the Numb3rs characters

A/N: A friend called me and ask if Don was mad because Charlie was not going to eat his vegetables. Lol Did I turn Special Agent Don Eppes into Mr. Mom?

Thanks for the very nice reviews.

Chapter 27

Don stepped closer to his brother and Charlie faced him head on. Whatever he was angry about Charlie had no intention of running away from it or him. He may have been on crutches but he would not let himself show a weakness now. Not to Don, not in the face of his anger, ever again.

Charlie could see that Don was trying to control himself before he opened his mouth. Alan was watching it all and was surprised by the change in Don in such a short time. What could Charlie have done in that short space of time to make Don so angry?

Don's eyes were shining brightly when they centered on Charlie. "You wanted to make sure that you cut every tie that you had to me didn't you? I'm a little surprised you didn't change your name so that you couldn't be linked to me."

"If you have something to say Don, just say it. I'm really not in the mood for guessing games and I don't have any idea what you're talking about."

"I went to the suspect's apartment and there was a lot of information to be found down there. I told Derek that you could be of a lot of help on this case and told him that I would check with you and see if you could work it in with your other project."

"Only guess what, little brother? Derek had to check your clearance and credentials before he could allow that since he had never worked with you before. Do you want to tell me what he found out?"

Charlie looked Don in the eyes and said, "That I resigned."

Alan gasped. "Why would you do that Charlie?"

Don was making every effort not to yell. He leaned forward and was looking Charlie in the eyes. "Why Charlie? I'll tell you why. You did this to hurt me. There was no other reason for you to do it."

"I can assure you Don that hurting you was not my goal."

Don was losing his battle to control his voice level. "THEN WHY?"

Alan jumped at the unexpected volume of Don's voice but Charlie held steady. "If I was doing it to hurt you I would have done it while I was still in LA. I waited for a week after I got here. I wanted to be sure that I wasn't doing it out of anger."

"Why Charlie?" Don asked with a tightly controlled voice level.

"Because if you tracked me down using FBI access I wanted the reason to be because I was your brother, not because you needed a consultant."

Don straightened up. He took a step back and turned away from Charlie. He rubbed his left hand down his face. "So it was a game, a test."

"It was no game; I have more than enough to keep me busy without it and the FBI has other consultants."

Don nodded his head. He swayed and as if in a daze he walked slowly to the door. He stood at the door gripping onto the frame for a few seconds and then he walked out, closing it behind him.

Charlie stood looking at the door. He was fighting to keep the tears from his eyes. Why had it seemed so right before and he felt so bad now? Charlie hadn't lied when he said he had not resigned in anger. He had thought it through carefully. He was not trying to punish Don. It was not even a fear that something would happen like the last case he worked on. They had worked together on many cases before that one. Charlie had no intention of falling back into old patterns when he returned home. He had needed to take power from Don and not working with him and concentrating on other things would take that power.

Charlie had forgotten his father was there. "Are you proud of yourself? Have you ever seen your brother look so defeated?"

Charlie swung his head around. His eyes were watered. "I had to do this for me. I have to build my life back up again. Don had too much power to hurt me and I need to have fewer ties with him."

"So you hurt him before he could hurt you again."

"It's not about hurting him Dad. It's about what I have to do. I can't go back to what I was."

"Charlie, whatever Don and you fought about before you left, don't you think it's possible that you just hurt him more than he hurt you?"

"No, it is not possible. You don't know what happened."

"Maybe I don't. Maybe it's time that one of you told me. Don is your only brother and you just cut one major tie to him. That tie's an artery Charlie, right to the heart. It was the one that brought the two of you so close together in the first place, it's the one that nearly destroyed your relationship when you fought and it's the one that could end that relationship now.

You said Don has too much power to hurt you. What about you? Did you see your power Charlie? You, you are the only one with the power to bring Don to his knees and I just saw it happen."

Charlie couldn't stop his eyes from watering. Dad didn't understand. He had to do this. Charlie hobbled into the bedroom. He needed to calm himself down.

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Don only had to walk a block to find a small bar. He needed a drink and he needed to think.

Why did he feel so all alone right now? Why did he feel like he'd been kicked in the stomach? Surely his life only felt like it was over.

If Charlie didn't want to work with him, he could accept that. He would have to accept it.

Charlie was his brother; no matter what Charlie would always be his brother, but where would they go from here? He knew they had bonds outside of the FBI, but were they strong enough? They were he decided. He might see him less but they would still have a strong brother bond. Those bonds don't die just because you see a loved one less.

'I need you and nothing else in my life matters to me as much as you do.' If Charlie wanted to quit working for the FBI, Don would support that decision.

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He couldn't calm down. There was no chalkboard in his room. Charlie felt panic. He hurled his crutches at the wall. What right did his dad have to judge his actions? Why did he feel like he had let everyone down when he was only trying to take some charge of his own life? He had to get out of here and he had to do it now.

He grabbed a pair of sweatpants from the dresser and looked out the bedroom door. He didn't see anyone. Charlie went to the table near the door and got out the spare car key.

Six floors did not seem like very much. When Charlie stepped onto the elevator his only thought was to get away to the trails and run to clear his mind. But by the time the elevator stopped on the first floor, he had come to his senses. He couldn't chance running on the rough terrain that he craved so bad. The pain medication would make the drive to the trails dangerous to everyone but mostly the pain medication would let him ignore the leg injury and the damage could be permanent. He knew that he needed to calm down but those risks were not worth it. So, when the elevator doors opened, Charlie headed for the gym. The treadmill was calling him but he continued past. He would use the safer outlet. He put the gloves on and Charlie approached the punching bag.

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Don had barely finished his first beer before his father sat on the bar stool next to him. His oldest son had a more determined look on his face than the last time Alan had seen him. The bartender asked what he wanted and Don waited for the water to be served for he spoke.

"I'm sorry that I got mad back there Dad. I never should have yelled like that. Derek really caught me off guard. I just needed to calm down and think and I can see Charlie's reasons more clearly now.

"Can you? Because I don't understand it at all. I think its past time that you told me what happened on that case." Don agreed and they took their drinks to a table at the back of the nearly deserted bar.

"I treated him bad during the case Dad. I expected Charlie to find the killer and find him fast so that we could stop it. Every time another child was killed, I would lay just a little more blame on Charlie. We never would have found the guy at all if he hadn't noticed a subtle pattern. It wasn't a pattern that any of us would have picked up on."

Don paused for another drink from his beer bottle. "So, armed with the information that Charlie gave us, we waited for the killer to make his next more. I had a dozen agents on the scene just waiting and watching, and we almost missed him Dad. He almost got away again with another child and right under the noses of all of us.

The witnesses who had seen and remembered details from the prior abductions had all said that the kids didn't seem to be in distress. They were right. I saw them together, we all saw that little girl with the killer and it never occurred to any of us that they hadn't been together when they got there. Looked like a little girl with her father. The absolutely only reason we even noticed anything at all was because that little girl wanted to run back and say good bye to her new friend and he wouldn't let her. That, all by itself still was not enough to draw much attention. It's not an uncommon occurrence that a parent is ready to leave and the child isn't. It was luck. It was nothing but luck that the vague description that we had for the killer turned out to be enough to grab my attention.

That little girl was so close to death that I couldn't see anything beyond that. She had almost been abducted right from under us; they were almost to the car. If she had been killed that would have been all my fault. I was in charge and I was there and it almost happened again anyway.

I knew it wasn't Charlie's fault that it took so long to catch the guy but I just couldn't stop blaming him. I mean he's the genius, he should've figured it all out. After the case I had to spend that weekend with my thoughts. A little girl that I almost let die.

When the interrogation was over, I sent the crew home. I was so deep in my own misery about my near miss that I walked out and left Charlie stranded in the conference room with not so much as a word. I had not even once stopped to think about Charlie. I didn't even remember that he had been there until the next day.

For more than a week, I stayed away from him. I was still blaming him. I didn't call him or see him until I needed help on another case." Don took another drink of his beer and gave a small humorless laugh. "Yeah, Charlie has a good reason to think that the only reason I would call him is for his help.

You know how bogged down he was this time for finals. He had to make up for the time away from teaching that he used working on the case. So when I asked him and he tried to tell me why he couldn't, I got mad. I wasn't listening to him. I just got mad. I went to see him at the school and we fought. I mean Dad that we really did fight. Charlie punched me in the mouth and I deserved it. It's not like I gave him much of a choice either, he tried to walk away from me and I wouldn't let him. And then I decked him. Right there in his empty classroom at the school, I decked him and gave him a black eye and when I tried to apologize he wouldn't listen. Of course I can't blame him. I was just trying to relieve my conscious at the time anyway."

"You gave Charlie that black eye? Why wouldn't he tell me that?" Alan was angry. There was confusion in his eyes just before he closed them. Charlie had said 'a brick wall.' Surely he had been their father long enough to know that Charlie would never betray Don to anyone.

"If Charlie had told you where he got it from, you would have wanted the whole story and I'm sure that he was feeling enough stress and hurt without dragging you into it. Strange as it seems, he might've been covering for me."

"With very good reason Don. How could you do that to him? He idolized you."

"I know he did Dad. Look, I know hurt him and I may never be able to make it up to him but I not giving up on Charlie. I made one of the biggest mistakes of my life by losing sight of how important he is to me. If Charlie doesn't want to want to be involved with the Bureau anymore, that's his choice and I accept it. His helping on cases is not nearly as important to me as what I really stand to lose and I will not let him walk out of my life without a fight."

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The punching bag really was not the instant relief that he would have thought it would be. It took working up a real sweat before Charlie felt the tension leave his body. He didn't want to think. Tomorrow, tomorrow he would think but today he had just needed to feel better. His body finally wore out. He thought he could have lasted longer if he had not taken that pain medicine. But with the jarring his body was taking he wouldn't have been able to last long enough to calm himself.

When he was done he was exhausted and not nearly as anxious. He went back to the apartment and thankfully he was alone. Charlie removed his sweat ridden shirt, threw it in the corner of the room and he collapsed across the bed. He was asleep instantly.


	28. Chapter 28

Disclaimer: I do not own the Numb3rs characters.

A/N: I want to let everyone know that there is a part in this chapter that involves a bet. It's a little drawn out. If you want to skip that entire section, you don't lost any story details. All repeated from earlier in the story. Section is marked with 5's to make it easier to find. It's based on a true life occurance spruced up by the Eppes family.

Thanks everyone for some very nice reviews.

Chapter 28

When Charlie awoke it was dark out. He was surprised to see that it was 1:30 am. He could vaguely remember that his dad had been in to try and wake him a few times. But Charlie had barely opened his eyes each time. He shouldn't have gone to bed so sweaty. He felt grimy.

Charlie wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep now and there were some files that he needed to transfer to the computer in his office. He got up showered and shaved. Before he left Charlie needed his sports bag. He had not seen it since the last time he was in the NSA building. The Tae Kwon Do uniform was clean and he had not thought to empty it. He searched the bedroom and his closet before he headed out to search the rest of the apartment.

The only light he left on was the bathroom light and it did not help very much in his search. Being as quiet as he could he found the bag under the end table. When he dragged the bag out from under the table, he turned around to see that Don was awake and watching him.

"Where are you going at this hour?"

"Sh, please don't wake Dad. I need to go into the office and I'll be back early afternoon."

Don motioned Charlie to follow him to the kitchen.

Charlie set the sports bag on the counter to make sure the uniform was still inside.

"Charlie, I want to apologize for the way I reacted to the news yesterday. I was floored when Derek told me. I overreacted."

"That's okay. I probably should have told you myself. I meant it when I said that I didn't do it to hurt you." Charlie unzipped the bag. "Listen if you can avoid it, please don't tell Dad that I left this early. I think if you just tell him early, he may think it was more like five or something. He's already going to be mad that I went in at all."

While Charlie was talking he reached into the bag and found that his uniform was there. There was also a change of clothes. Charlie reached for the bottle of pain meds and when he started to drop them into the inside pocket, he reached in and pulled out a computer disk. It was the standard office type that was commonly used at the NSA. Charlie was always careful that the disks he copied at work were in a case and rarely would he just leave it in his sports bag. He set it on the counter.

"I'm really sorry that you had to find out that way. Could you put that disk on the night stand in the bedroom for me please? I'll have to check later to see what I put on it."

"No problem. You better take it easy at those classes. You get another injury and Dad will probably drag you back to LA."

"I think I've reached my quota on injuries for the year. Statistically speaking, I should be safe until spring 2011 at the very least."

Don laughed. "Okay, I'll tell him that on the next drive we have to make to the hospital."

"Hey, you and Dad have fun today. Bye."

Charlie drove to the NSA building. He was admitted by the night guard and went to his office. He started right to work uploading the program into the office computer system. Since he was not expected to be in at all today, his team would not be showing up. The morning went by pretty fast. He worked on the program and when the pain pill kicked in he took a nap in the recliner. Just to have some leverage with his dad today he even stopped in the cafeteria for a large container of soup.

Before leaving Charlie headed down to see Vic, his Tae Kwon Do instructor. He had missed the class and hoped to catch him. Vic was there alone. He said that if Charlie wanted they would work on some moves right now.

Vic loaded both himself and Charlie up with protective gear so that they could work on more complicated kicks than he had learned. He told him that he could benefit from more individual instruction rather than a class.

Vic said that with permission from the director he could give Charlie private tutoring on their own time. Charlie thought that sound like a good idea. He told Vic that he would insist on paying at least the going rate for normal tutors and that he should tell the Director no freebies on this.

They spent two hours going over the kicks that Charlie had already learned and he was taught the spinning kick. It was usually a kick learned by the more advanced students but Vic assured Charlie that his best Tae Kwon Do talents lay in his legs and he should concentrate on the kicking.

----------------------------------------------

Early afternoon Derek called Don and they discussed his assisting with this case this week. There were plenty of "desk duty" things that Don could assist on. He would not be stuck with reports. This case was complicated and there was a lot of calls and research needed. He assured Don that the apartment building was not too far out of his way and that he would drive Don to and from work.

When Charlie got to the apartment it was quiet. His dad and Don were not there. He took his other medications and set the pain pills back in their place. He did not want to get to bed too early tonight and would have to take that one later. He looked in the mirror. His swollen nose was nearly back to the right size, the bruise on his forehead was a light purple now, and his lip injury was fading to a less bright shade of pink. His jaw and eye were still a deep black. Vic had told him that it just didn't look good having a student in his class that looked as battered as Charlie did.

Charlie changed and headed to the roof for some laps. Don was sitting in a poolside chair. He looked comfortable and was wearing his sunglasses. He looked to be dozing. Charlie dived in the pool and did some laps, it had been awhile but he found that fifteen of them were still reachable.

When Charlie finished he sat on the side with his legs in the water. Don had still looked like he was asleep with Charlie got out of the water so it was unexpected when he heard him talk while standing right behind him. "You know Charlie, Dad is really upset with you."

Charlie jumped and put his hand to his chest. "Don you are going to have to stop doing that. I'm going to die of heart failure before I'm thirty at this rate. And lately I wouldn't know Dad if he wasn't irritated at me for one thing or another. Where is he by the way?"

"He walked down to that bookstore you told him about. He should be back anytime. How's your leg, any pain today?"

"I really wouldn't know since I've been pumped with pain pills for two days. Think I better get it over with and see what Dad has to say."

When they went downstairs their dad was sitting in a living room chair reading a book.

"Charlie?" He was looking at Charlie over the top of his glasses.

"Yeah Dad?" How could he still make Charlie feel like he was seven years old?

"Everything go okay today?"

"Everything was fine."

"You eat anything?"

"I ate a huge bowl of soup for lunch."

"What time did you le…?"

"I had lunch about noon or so."

"I meant to say what time did you leave."

Charlie looked toward the ceiling. "Hmm…It's at least a half hour drive each way and traffic was pretty mild so I guess it would have been about two or so and then I sat up on the roof and had a very nice talk with Don. The weather is great out there. I'm glad I got home so early. Hey Dad, I'm really tired from that last pain pill." Charlie disappeared into the bedroom. He yelled back to his dad. "Make sure you wake me for dinner. I have a feeling I'm going to be ready for a good meal."

Don looked at Alan to see his reaction. Alan was sitting with his mouth hanging open and disbelief all over his face.

"Can you believe that Donnie?"

Don just shook his head. It had been a long-shot that Charlie could get away with it.

"A good meal, Charlie's ready for a good meal. I have to get started; I'm not sure what soft foods we have in there."

Don was impressed. Charlie had never even batted an eye and he managed to say all of the things that his dad would want to hear. While it was true that Charlie left about 2 am, he never actually said that. He would never have gotten away with that.

-------------------------------------------------

Don had once again been nominated to be the one to wake Charlie. It was never a pleasant task to begin with but his brother was under the influence of narcotics now and had been up for hours when he slept. "Charlie wake up. Dinners ready." He shook Charlie's shoulder. Charlie cracked open his eyes. He rolled over away from Don.

"Ten more minutes and I'm good to go. I'm not hungry."

"You know, I don't know why, but ever since you left LA, Dad has it in his head that you're starving."

"How about five more minutes and I'll get up? You know it was a really huge bowl of soup."

"Can't do it Buddy. Dad's putting dinner on the table now. I have to warn you he's been cooking for three hours and I've seen less food at a buffet bar. There is no way you'll get out of this one."

Charlie groaned, rolled back over and raised up on one elbow. "Don, you would be surprised what I can do when I set my mind to it."

"Well that's a true statement but not when it comes to Dad, you and food."

"Five bucks says I get out of there with no more than four bites and he won't even notice. Twenty minute time limit. But you can't do anything to tip Dad off."

"You're on, one condition. Do not do anything that will make me loose my appetite."

Charlie laughed. "I hadn't even thought of going that route. I'll keep that in mind for the next time."

"That includes math."

"You wound me Don. Check your watch, its 6:20."

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Charlie trailed behind Don to the dining room. "Hey Dad, smells great in here."

"Well hello. Look who woke up in a good mood."

"Wow! We expecting company, like the entire sixth floor?"

"Just the three of us. I can save some for leftovers tomorrow." Charlie would be sitting directly across from his father and Don would be on Charlie's right. Charlie sat down, Alan sat down, Don sat down, Charlie got up.

"Where are you going Charlie?"

"I need a straw."

"I got you a straw, where did it go?"

"You guys go on and eat, I'll look for it."

Charlie looked around the table, pulled his chair out and then crawled under the table.

"If it fell down there you're going to need a new one anyway."

"Nope, not here."

Charlie came out from under the table. "Did you find anything at that bookstore today?"

Charlie walked into the kitchen while Alan was talking about a book by Michael Prescott. A minute later, he returned without the straw. Charlie took a portion out of the bowl closest to him. It was mashed potatoes. He reached for another bowl close by and put some pasta salad on his plate. Alan was still talking about the book.

Charlie got up. "Be right back."

"What are you doing?" Alan was getting irritated.

"I told you, I need a straw."

"You already went in to get a straw."

"Yeah I know but I got sidetracked because I needed to wash my hands after crawling around the floor and forgot the straw. Be back in a second."

Charlie came back in with the straw.

He started to put the straw in the glass. "Is this soda Dad? I really don't want soda. Is there any iced tea?"

"No iced tea. There's lemonade though."

"Sounds good, I'll get that."

Don said, "Just pour that into my glass so you don't have to waste it."

Charlie poured the soda from his glass into Don's near empty glass. "Be right back."

A minute later Charlie came back out with the pitcher of lemonade. He started to pour some in his glass and then stopped. "I need to rinse this."

Another minute later Charlie returned with the glass. He set it on the table and started to pour it into the glass. "That café down by that bookstore is a great place for people watching. You should try to get in there while you're in town." Meanwhile Charlie had over poured just enough to need a quick paper towel clean up. "Sorry, be right back."

Charlie went in to get a paper towel and returned to the table. "Charlie you may need to wet that, the table's going to be sticky."

Don smilef over the fact that Alan probably just took one of Charlie's diversion tactics away.

"Oh yeah."

Charlie came back in with the now wet paper towel and wiped off the table. He set his glass back down. He left the room with the paper towel and the pitcher. He returned, sat down and picked up his fork. He moved the pasta salad around his plate.

"Don?"

"Yeah?" There was the slightest hint of hesitation in his voice.

"Don't you want Dad to cut that salisbury steak for you? Dad, it looks like Don is having a problem handling his food." Charlie reached for the largest bowl on the table and set it in front of his plate.

"No, I don't need any help."

"Sure you do. Dad did you see that it moved all over his potatoes when he tried to cut into it? Gravy is sloshing over the side Don."

Don shot Charlie a dirty look; he did not want to eat his dinner with a spoon.

"Do you want me to help him Dad?"

"No, I want you to eat." Alan got up and moved closer to Don's plate. While he was cutting Don's food, Charlie scraped his pasta salad into a napkin, wadded it and put it under the rim of his plate. Charlie waited for Alan to sit back down. Their dad had cut the meat into perfect adult bite size pieces.

"Pass the applesauce please."

Alan handed Charlie the applesauce. He spooned it onto his plate. Charlie took a bite of the applesauce. "Don, how did your day go?"

Charlie had his fork poised over his potatoes. When Don started talking, Charlie spread the potatoes around the plate.

"Derek asked me to work on the Atwood case while I'm in town this week."

"You going to be needing a ride in? It's not too far from the NSA building."

"No, Derek has already offered his driving services. But thanks."

"Pass the pepper please."

Don handed Charlie the pepper. He sprinkled some on his food. "Is Leslie the only suspect?" Charlie took a long drink from his straw.

"You know I can't discuss that Charlie. Do you know her?"

"Yeah, I know her. She's a nice girl."

"Yeah? When was the last time you saw her?"

"She stopped by on Friday evening to let me know that she wouldn't be around during the weekend and then we talked about my leg injury." Charlie moved some of the bowls around in front of him and reached for the spoon that was in the closest bowl.

Alan asked "When was this? I don't recall seeing her." Charlie took his hand off the spoon. He picked up his fork.

"It was just after Diane buzzed to be let in. I was waiting at the open door when Leslie got there." Charlie reached for the bowl of creamed corn that was sitting on the table near him. He put spoonful on his plate.

"Oh, we were both in the kitchen then Don."

Don asked "Did she say why she wouldn't be around?"

Charlie picked his fork back up and poised it over the corn. "She told me she had to work. She said she works one weekend out of the month." Charlie took a bite from his potatoes. "Great job on getting all of the lumps out of the potatoes Dad. They're perfect this way."

"Thanks Charlie. I mixed them extra long and added more milk than usual."

While his dad talked Charlie mixed the corn with the potatoes and moved them together around his plate until finally pushing them into tight up against the applesauce.

Don asked Charlie, "Did Leslie ever talk about her work?"

"Only that she was a CIA agent." Charlie finished the rest of the lemonade and sat the glass down. He picked up his fork. "Neither of us talked about our work."

Charlie got up. "I need another napkin. Anyone else need anything while I'm up?" After receiving negative replies, Charlie went to the kitchen with the old napkin in his hand. He returned with the new napkin and the pitcher of lemonade. He refilled his glass and returned the pitcher to the refrigerator.

Charlie sat down and took a long drink from the lemonade. He picked up his fork. "There is one thing that you may want to check on Don." Charlie took a large bite of his applesauce. "There is bound to be some rumors floating around out there."

Don put his own fork down. "What makes you say that?" Charlie moved his applesauce more firmly up against his potatoes.

"Let's just says it's a feeling I have."

"Couldn't be more specific could you Buddy?"

"Sorry Bro; no can do. Like I said it's just a feeling." Charlie made some scraping noises on his plate before once again spooning a forkful of applesauce into his mouth."

Charlie finished the lemonade in his glass and set it back down a little harder than was necessary. "Dad, I can't eat another bite. You should make the potatoes like that more often."

"I'm glad you like them Charlie."

"Let me help you clean up." Charlie got up and took his plate to the kitchen. He scraped it into the garbage disposal and set it in the sink.

When he got back to the dining room he had about thirty seconds to go. His dad and Don were just getting up from the table.

"I want you to know Charlie that I wasn't fooled for a second." Charlie froze, where had he gone wrong? Don had a triumphant smile on his face.

"I know that you talked around letting me know how early you left for work. But, I'll let it go this time since you did such a good job with your dinner."

Alan walked into the kitchen. Charlie beamed and shot Don a look. "Thanks Dad." he called after him.

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After collecting his winnings Charlie helped his dad clean the kitchen. Later he and Alan joined Don in the living room. Don was watching CNN. Alan listened to the news for a few minutes and reached for his crossword puzzle book. "Isn't there a game on tonight Donnie?"

"I don't feel like watching baseball tonight."

Charlie and Alan looked at each other. Don had never not wanted to watch a game that was on. Charlie got up to get his laptop. He just needed to put some finishing touches on the program and it would be ready to go tomorrow.

About ten minutes later a news report came on CNN. A member of the Supreme Court, William Jenkins had been found murdered in his home in a DC suburb just over the border in Maryland. There was no further information released.

"That's two in three days." Charlie said. "They have to be connected."

"Looks that way." Don got his cell phone and went into the kitchen to call Derek. He was on the phone for a long time and when he came back, he didn't say anything. Charlie was dying to hear some relating details. He didn't ask.

Charlie had purposely not taken the pain medication so that he could finish the program tonight and it was finally done. When he took the laptop back to his bedroom he noticed the disk on the nightstand. He put the disk to find out what on it was.

The information that flowed on the screen was not something Charlie had worked on. The data flashing before his eyes looked did not belong to any of the military security programs. How had this gotten into his sports bag?

The first thing at the top was a list of names. Senator Douglas Atwood, NY was the first name and William Jenkins, Supreme Court Justice was the second name. It was a shock that Charlie was not prepared for. But the next name on the list stopped him cold. It was Director Robert Thompkins, NSA.


	29. Chapter 29

I do not own the Numb3rs Characters

A/N: Thank you for the Great Reviews. Thanks Maurbill for your excellent review. Made my day.

Chapter 29

Where had this information come from? Has he had this information in his possession since last Thursday? Nothing else made sense. If he had not been injured he would have found the disk after his running class ended when he changed into his jeans. He could have prevented these deaths.

The hit list was a long one. Further down there was an even larger list of names. This seemed to be a list of people involved in a conspiracy. He recognized some names. A frightening amount of people on the list were very powerful. He recognized the mayor of Boston but as his eyes followed the list down he found that it went as high as the Vice President of the United States. A lot of the names were NSA agents. One was Jeff Pitts, Charlie's own team member. Then there were names that he was not at all familiar with. Politician, heads of large Corporations, Government officials.

Still further down was a list of targets. Nearly all of them Government targets. Federal Buildings leaded the list. There was Court houses, an embassy, military bases and even some of the country's largest bridges.

He had to contact Bob. He could still be at the NSA; Charlie knew he often kept late hours. The NSA involvement meant that Bob's phone could be bugged. The Director could be killed at anytime and someone was probably watching his house. Work would be the safest place to reach him if he was still there.

Could Charlie's phone be safe? With his connections within the NSA there was no way he could be too careful. A gun, he should probably not go alone unarmed. Don was not likely to just hand his over but Charlie knew that it was in his suitcase in the closet. He tucked the loaded gun into his waist and pulled his shirt down over top. Charlie put his laptop and disk into the sports bag and left the house.

He went out into the living room to look for his sneakers. Alan asked "What's going on Charlie?"

"I can't explain. Something's happened and I have to run. Dad, could I borrow your cell phone. Mine's dead. I'll bring it back in a little while."

"It's charging on the kitchen counter."

"Thanks. Where's Don?"

"Derek said that he would pick him up and as far as I know they were on the way to the FBI building to work the new murder case. If you hurry you can probably catch him waiting downstairs."

Catching him downstairs was not what Charlie was hoping for and when he stepped off the elevator he saw his brother walking toward an SUV that was pulled up to the curb.

Charlie knew that he just could not be too careful. He needed to assume that everything was suspicious. The local FBI could have a hand in this. How to get Bob to meet him somewhere without letting him give away the meeting place over the phone? He doubted that his own car was bugged. He didn't dare to take a chance though.

He needed to call Bob. A call that would not tip off a listener. A call where he would not give Bob enough time to give any information over his own phone.

He formed a quick plan and dialed. "Bob, hey it's Charlie. Look, I'm in a real jam with my family and really need to talk to you about it."

"I'm just getting in the car to go home Charlie; tell me where are you and I'll come there."

"Uh oh the battery is almost dead on this phone. Can you meet me at the last place you and I had lunch?" Charlie hung up the phone.

He raced to get to the restaurant. When he pulled up into the lot Bob was standing outside the door of the Italian restaurant. He pulled up to him and opened the door for Bob. Bob got in and Charlie drove off.

"Hey Bob Thanks for showing up without notice like this." Charlie showed him a note he had just hastily written while driving. 'Careful, car may be bugged.'

Bob's eyebrows rose and a question was on his face, but he covered it well in his voice. "No problem. I had to stay late today or else you would have missed me. Glad I could help. How are you feeling?"

"Better today. It was only rough the first day but I feel pretty good now. First day off crutches went well."

"That's good news Charlie."

They continued to make small talk and Charlie kept an untrained eye to the traffic behind him for anyone that would be following. He was aware of some of the tactics used. But he did not consider himself confident enough to trust what he could see. By the time he made several unplanned turns in residential areas and exited the area onto other main roads from where they were, he was pretty sure they were alone. He backtracked to where he was since getting lost would hardly help the situation.

Charlie pulled off the main road near Hell's Corner and sat where he could watch for any followers. He double backed near the road to be sure that no one followed. After waiting ten minutes and still making small talk with Bob, Charlie drove back to the open barren land. He stopped the car that was concealed as much as possible behind some trees and grabbed the sports bag.

He said. "Bob, I want to show you some land that I'm considering buying. It'll just take a few minutes. Hey can I borrow your cell phone for a minute. Mine's dead." Charlie placed a call to his home in LA. He left a message on the answering machine for an Aunt Sophia that he did not have and said that he would try back later. He put the phone down on the seat and they got out.

Charlie and Bob got out of the car and walked toward a group of rocks. "I was probably being over cautious. There really isn't any reason for my car to be bugged but we can't afford to take chances. There is a real chance that your phone is tapped though."

"What's this all about Charlie? Do we need reinforcements?"

"I would say that's a real possibility. It's going to be hard to know who to trust though. First I need to tell you what I found out. Bob, this is big, massive even compared to anything I've seen nationally before. The deaths of the Senator and the Judge are related."

"I think that's a little obvious."

"Yeah, but that's just where the story starts. Someone slipped a disk into my sports bag at the NSA last week; a disk that I only found a little while ago. Get ready for a big shock. The first thing on the disk is a rather long list of names. The first name is Douglas Atwood; the second name is William Jenkins. There are more than forty names on that list Bob."

The Director's face registered shock. "And you've had that disk in your possession since last week? Prior to the murders? Is the FBI aware of the list?

"They are not aware and we can't tell them. I must have had this disk since my bag left the building last week when my dad picked it up just before he came to the hospital. The list is geared toward very powerful people. The fallout of the deaths could have devastating effects."

"Who else is on this list? Who's next?"

"Director Robert Thompkins, NSA."

"What?" The shock registered on Bob's face. Charlie reached out to steady him since he looked to have just received a blow to his body.

"Yours is the next name on the list. We need to get to a safer location so I can show you this disk. It isn't just a hit list, there looks to be names of the people involved. It's a conspiracy, a big one Bob. There are NSA agents on the list; there are politicians all over the country listed. The vice president is even on the list. You can't afford to take any chances with who you would normally trust until you see the list."

"The last list is of potential targets. Most are Government targets starting with Federal buildings."

"Charlie, I need to get my wife to safety and then I'll show you a secure place near here. Beth has a sister that I'll ask to help." He told Charlie as he punched in the phone number. "Gwen, Hi its Bob. She's fine but she's stranded and there could be trouble. Could you and Jay drive over to Patty's and pick her up and take her back to your house. That's great. I appreciate it. Gwen, please make sure that Beth leaves her cell phone behind. Yeah, it's important. I'll be by later to see her but ask her not to call me. She needs to keep her location quiet so ask her that until she talks to me she not call anyone at all. Thanks.

When Bob finished the call he told Charlie, "Beth is staying with some friends at their vacation home, but anyone monitoring my calls may know that. Gwen and her husband are aware that sometimes I need Beth out of the way and she knows how to help keep her safe. I've never had a contract on me before but I have had instances where she could be used to get to me. Now to get us somewhere safer. There's an old cabin that the NSA used to use but it's been abandoned for years now and I'm sure it's secure. It's well hidden and protected. When we get back in the car Charlie, I'm going to have to ditch that phone. Whether you call on it or not it can be used as a tracking devise for anyone with the government intelligence to know how."

While Charlie was driving using the pointing directions Bob removed the cover from the phone, there jammed up against the sim card was a small plastic devise that monitors calls. It did not look like there was a tracking devise but it was possible to be embedded into the devise itself. He asked that Charlie stop the car and Bob put the devise on the ground and piled dirt over it. Destroying it could alert someone that it had been found. They drove a few more miles and Bob threw the phone itself into a pile of brush where it fell through and sunk to the ground.

Before they were to the secure location, Charlie really wished he had bought an SUV. If the car got stuck they would be in trouble. Luckily they had been without rain for a while.

Bob told him they were almost there. Charlie didn't see anything but a bunch of boulders and trees. Then out of nowhere he found the cabin. It was built into the side of the rock and if you weren't looking for it, you would never find it.


	30. Chapter 30

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 30

When they got out of the car Bob led the way onto the cabin. There was only one small window. They propped the door for light.

It was a large room and a small room off the side. It hadn't been used in some time but there was still some covered furniture around. Bob pulled a sheet off the table and chairs in the large front room without warning. After Charlie's fit of sneezing he asked to see the disk.

When Bob saw the list of intended victims he was shocked at seeing his own name on the list. The next two names on the list were Governor Gary Grates, MA. And Cabinet Member, Nicholas Maxwell, Attorney General.

While the Director was reading the information on the disk, Charlie told him of his own thoughts on it. He said that as far as he knew the only suspect the FBI had was Leslie for the murder of the Senator.

Bob told Charlie, "Leslie Faulkner is well known in the political social circles. She's attracted to married and powerful politicians. Her name has been tied to some of the more influential names on Capital Hill. I'm not too much for listening to the gossips so I don't know for sure who else she may be involved with. She and Atwood have been together for quite a long time but I think they kept it pretty casual. I don't think she killed him."

Bob was suspicious of the names of the people involved. This was not possible. The NSA had always been on guard for a spy in the ranks. He kept his thoughts to himself for now but he suspected the list of those involved to be phony.

"Charlie where do you think this disk came from?"

"I've been thinking it over. Before I was injured on Thursday, so far as I know, no one in the training classes outside of the instructors knew who I was. But when Agent Belmont called you from the van, he addressed me as Dr. Eppes and then when we got back to the grounds, you called me by my first name. The most likely conclusion is that someone in that class already had that disk. They wanted to slip it to someone without getting caught and my unguarded sports bag and my connections made me an easy target for whom to give the information to."

"Makes sense Charlie. Granted this list is staggering. It makes it look like anyone in the NSA can be involved and could be wrecking enormous amounts of havoc within the ranks. The NSA has been ahead of the spy game for years. Absolutely no one is above suspicion."

"I'm going to give you my thoughts on what we have here. I think the hit list is real; we have two dead men to prove that. I don't believe the entire hit list is real. I think it was compiled with other names to throw off anyone who would try to link the murders. I don't believe the people listed are involved. I think it's a much smaller group. I'm telling you that this is entirely not possible. Now I can sit here and tell you of all of the precautions taken by the NSA to guard against corruption and I will if you want me to. The absolute only person that could pull off NSA spying and scandal of this size, the only one with real power to do much damage at all is me and even I would be caught before it got this far."

Now granted one or two could still be involved in the hits and I think that's what we have here. One or two with some financial backing to hire a hit man. The real culprit may or may not even be on this list. But as to why the list, if it got out it would actually start a nationwide NSA scandal by exposing a false list of those involved. If you notice that list does not have CIA, FBI, Secret Service or any of the other larger groups. But why would it just be NSA and a ton of politicians? Really doesn't make sense. A spy working alone or a small group doesn't stand a chance in the NSA. The only way to pull off spying in the NSA ranks is if there is more than 50 percent corruption and I can guarantee that that is not possible."

"Charlie, I have a covert team of invisible agents that are, except for one, completely untraceable to the NSA. I would trust that team with my life. I have no choice but to trust them now. I'm going to call them here and we are all going to go over what we have and dissect this. There is an answer somewhere and we will find it."

"A concern to me is how my phone was compromised. The only way for it to have been done successfully was outside of the NSA grounds. I don't believe the person or persons involved have access to tracking my movements. The phone would have had to have been tampered with at my house and I can guarantee you that the security there is also very strong."

"My office, as well as every other room in that building outside of the restrooms and the training grounds is under undetectable surveillance. There is no one that knows the extent of that surveillance outside of me. I have five different security groups that do constant monitoring. That's a lot of monitoring and they each have their own security team. But something worth knowing here is that none of those five groups even knows the others exist. It's overlapped in certain places where most areas are monitored by two separate groups, unknown to each other. Only one of the teams is even located on the grounds. I am the only one with the power, no one agent is above suspicion, no one agent flies solo on any project. The monitoring is just the tip of the iceberg Charlie."

"Bob, I don't know how you can safely assume the list is fake. Isn't that too big of a risk even with the security that you have in place?"

"This list makes it clear that we have an NSA conspiracy; That the organization cannot be trusted. If that information got out, it could cripple us and that's what I think the goal was with this disk. Let me explain more of why conspiracy could not exist in NSA. For instance, your office. There are two completely separate camera surveillance groups. There are no cameras pointed toward the chalkboards or to the chair at the end of the table where you sit. Your room is not wired for sound for obvious reasons. Every evening the room is swept for surveillance other than what I have in place, all under the supervision of me. No one is admitted for any reason alone to that room other than you or me. Even when the food is delivered in the morning, I have to be there or they do not get in. The guards that are assigned to that room are themselves under constant video surveillance. If you or any of your team disappear, or have unexplained injuries or death, the project would be scratched; a new team would be assigned under those circumstances. This is all an example of the security that exists throughout the NSA and most of the agents are not even aware of it."

"This all sounds a little over the top I'm sure, and for another organization it probably is. But the NSA has always been aware of any possibility of a spy and taken all steps necessary to avoid corruption."

"That's why I'm calling on the covert team Charlie. They are eleven of the very best, highly trained in espionage and search and destroy. They can eliminate what is bogus from what is real. I will have to halt the security project and I need you to go there first thing in the morning and sweep the computer in that room clean. For the time being it will be left on disks. If you let me use that phone to get Ted here then we can plan where we go from here."

"Ted Ferguson leads this group and he's an expert in this kind of activity. I want to assure you that he and his team will handle this and manage to keep the people on the list safe. He lives here in DC and his work in the public eye is as a writer. Mainly he writes the training manuals for the NSA, but he's also a highly talented painter."

Bob went out to a clearing outside the cabin to make the call. He gave a short version and Ted said that he was on the way and he would bring Vic.

Charlie could not help but think of the CIA tactics of covering up actions by using covert agents. It would make sense that Bob would not want this kind of thing exposed. But could there be other reasons than what he said. It was obvious that Bob was not involved but what steps would the NSA go to in order to protect themselves? To hide damaging information. Charlie had known Bob for years and trusted him completely, but this conspiracy information is something they had never been exposed to before with the NSA.

When the Director came back in, he again talked about the covert team. "The only one of the team that I know that you are familiar with is Vic Schneider, your Tae Kwon Do instructor. If you have any problem, you need only to let Vic now. He can be trusted beyond any slightest doubt. He's saved lives against the greatest of odds. He's saved mine a few times and I count him as one of the people that I most trust. We never associate together socially of course for the obvious reasons but I count him as one of my best friends. He is also the only member of the team that is directly, although indirectly involved with the NSA. He has never been a field agent, but rather has always been a marital arts instructor. Since he's the best and the NSA needed the best he was hired on staff."

When Ted and Vic arrived they were in an SUV. They were immediately brought up to date on the so called conspiracy.

Ted was a take charge individual with a very quick mind. He was in his late 50's but he was in top physical shape. Vic of course was a smaller man but both gave the appearance of being competent.

Ted and Vic agreed with Bob that the conspiracy was fake; they needed to find the people or persons involved and keep Bob and the rest of the list of people safe.

For his part, it was decided that given Charlie's physical appearance he would not arouse suspicion by not being in his office. This would keep the team away. But, first thing in the morning, Charlie needed to get to the office and wipe out the part of the security project that was already downloaded. The project should be loaded onto disks and would be put into a safe deposit box set up by Charlie. He would only be making a show of working on the project and the delay would be explained away as his injuries kept him away from it.

He told them, "Don's working on this case now with the DC FBI and I think I should at least print out a list of the intended victims."

All three of them shook their heads at this remark.

"Charlie, what are you going to tell him? If you tell him the truth, he's going to want all of the information you found."

Ted said, "Dr. Eppes, I believe that the first two murdered and the next intended victim, the Director, has a link somewhere that made them targets. Now more of that hit list could have the same link, but surely not all of it. We need to find that common link. I think the answer is in the old NSA files and we will have to look for it."

Bob continued for Ted. "Charlie, let the team work on this, you take the next two days off and I will stay hidden where I won't be found and just in case I will have my wife and her sister's family moved to a secure location."

We will get the next three people on that hit list and keep them safely hidden but I believe that to be a precaution that is not going to be needed."

"I can help with the old files. This is the kind of work I did for the FBI."

Bob told him "No Charlie, we can't risk it. You're too close to this. Someone gave you that disk for whatever reason. I don't believe you are a target as long as you do not appear to be involved."

Charlie needed a few answers before he let this go. "Bob, are you and this covert team trying to cover this up? If you find the persons responsible for the death of those two men, will they actually even make it to a fair trial?"


	31. Chapter 31

I do not own the Numb3rs characters.

A/N: Thank you everyone for those nice reviews and FraidyCat thanks for the compliment on my first full length fanfic

Chapter 31

"Charlie, you've known me for a long time. You helped develop and set up a lot of the security system on the NSA grounds. Have you ever known me to do even one thing that could be considered shady?"

"No I haven't. Bob, I don't know what to think about this anymore. This potential scandal is not something that I have ever seen you face. I just want to be sure that we are doing this the right way. If this is an FBI case, why can't the NSA let the FBI in on some of the potentially dangerous information that was found? They could help protect those people on the list."

"The reason that we can't go to the FBI with what we have Charlie is not just because of the scandal. That would eventually be proven as untrue. Another reason is that this could chase our killers away. But, I have no doubt that they would be back and we may not be as prepared as we can be now. Tell you what, I will allow you to work with this team to find the people involved. If you're in the loop you will see that everything we are doing is aboveboard. We will not kill the ones involved just to keep the NSA out of the news. We don't work like that. When we find out who is involved, we will turn them over to the FBI with the information. Now matter how damaging the information is that we find; FBI gets it all. We can weather a storm."

"Tomorrow afternoon, you can come back here and there will be enough to get you started. We won't keep anything hidden from you. I'll have chalk boards set up and files. You and one other agent will work in this cabin. Ted has a phone for you that is secure and has mine, his and Vic's numbers already programmed in. I won't be here at the cabin but if you find something I'll come here to see it. You'll stay in the loop with this one, you have my word. And Charlie, I will not do anything that is even the slightest bit underhanded. I want to keep the people on that list alive and I want to keep the NSA strong."

Charlie and Bob got in Charlie's car and drove away. Ted and Vic followed behind. After Charlie dropped Bob off in the parking lot, Bob entered the restaurant and met with another agent. He was then whisked out a side door to another waiting vehicle that would take him to safety.

Another agent would get the cabin set up this evening so that Charlie could start work the next day. Bob did not feel comfortable with Charlie working on this case but he admitted that this was Charlie's line of expertise and the young professor would want to stay involved with what was happening. He would make sure that an agent was with him at all times that he was at the cabin. He also had another member of the team station himself as a renter in the apartment across the hall from Charlie.He would move in this evening. As much as he did not say so to Charlie, it could be that the guilty party would be watching the young professor.

Charlie had pretty much been in the protective presence of his family since Thursday so just because he wasn't approached before does not mean it would not happen. Bob and Ted discussed the possible reasons that Charlie was given the disk. If there was any sign of trouble, visiting family or not, Charlie would be taken to a secured location as well.

By the time Charlie got back to the apartment that evening, it was pretty late. All was quiet when he unlocked and opened the door. He quietly entered the kitchen and placed his dad's phone in its charging spot on the kitchen counter.

When Charlie walked through the living room, neither of the Eppes men laying there stirred. Charlie quietly entered his bedroom and headed toward the closet. He unzipped Don's suitcase and started to reach for the gun in the waist of his jeans.

"Charlie, what in the hell are you doing?"

Charlie jumped. "Damn Don. Stop doing that."

"What are you doing Charlie?"

"I was looking in Dad's bag for something."

"Well, that would be fine except that's not Dad's bag and all of his bags have been emptied."

Charlie rose from where he was squatting. "Oh sorry. I'll just wait until he gets up in the morning and ask him."

Don held out his hand. "Hand it here."

"What? I didn't even get the bag opened."

"I already know you took my gun when you left this evening."

Charlie sighed. He should have known that his brother already knew.

"I had something important to do, and it could have been dangerous. But everything was fine. DC is a pretty unsafe place at night in case you hadn't noticed." Charlie handed over the gun and walked past Don.

"Buddy, you want to tell me what you're getting yourself involved in?"

"Not especially. It doesn't concern you."

"If you're doing something that requires that you carry a gun, it very much concerns me."

"I won't touch it again. I'm really sorry."

"Can you tell me what you were doing tonight? You were gone a long time."

"Don, I'm tired and I haven't had a pain pill since before lunch. I'm taking my medication and going to bed."

Charlie headed to the bathroom to change. He wasn't any good at direct lies and Don's conversation would have led that way. The last thing he wanted was to screw up a lie to an FBI agent. They are trained for getting to the truth and his brother had a definite advantage when it came to Charlie.

Don lay awake for a long time that evening. Something was going on with Charlie and he wasn't sure how he could help. He was pretty sure that his brother was headed for dangerous ground but felt powerless to stop it.

There is was again, that sound that Don had come to hate so much. Bat meeting ball. Don looked around for Charlie. He could see his brother with his water bottle but he was not going to make that far in time. While Don was running he could see the ball headed toward Charlie's exposed throat. Don kept running toward where Charlie was sitting and the ball was still moving in slow motion but with every step his brother just kept moving farther and farther away from him while the ball was getting closer to its target. 'You can't save him this time Eppes.' It was that same voice as last time. James Andrews, but Don couldn't see him.

Don awoke with a start with Charlie's name hanging in the air. Alan was sitting up looking at him. "Donnie, what's the matter? why were you calling for Charlie?"

"It was just a bad dream Dad. Go back to sleep. I'm fine now." Don lay back down and waited for his dad's breathing to even out to indicate he was sleeping. He got up and went in Charlie's room. He crept up to the bed. That dream left him with the overpowering feeling that he had to protect Charlie. Whether his brother wanted to admit it or not, he was in real danger and he would need someone to watch over him. Don could feel the danger that Charlie was in and it unnerved him.

He sat in a chair near the side of the bed and Don watched over Charlie while his brother slept. He fell asleep watching and guarding.

Alan awoke when daylight was barely setting in. He noticed that Don was not on the mattress nearby and thought he had hit the shower first this morning. He went to the kitchen to start coffee. After straightening up the two beds, he went looking for Don.

He found him sitting in the chair in Charlie's room. Both sons were asleep. Don did not look at all comfortable in the chair. "Son, wake up."

Don's eyes flew open and he searched for Charlie. When he found that he was still asleep where he'd left him, he calmed down. "Morning." Don's voice was just above a whisper. "Guess I fell asleep."

"It would seem so. Care to tell me why you fell asleep sitting here?"

"It was closer than the floor Dad. Hey I'm gonna jump in the shower."

Alan shook his head. He had the worst time getting a straight answer out of either son.

When Don got out of the shower he stopped and checked on Charlie. Finding that he was still asleep he went in to talk to his dad.

Alan was standing near the counter drinking his coffee and had a skillet heating on the stove to cook eggs in.

"Dad, I need you to do me a couple favors. Two important favors. I don't know what's going on and it might even be NSA related, I don't know. I'm worried about Charlie. I can't explain the details. I don't know any. It's just a feeling and it might be the project he's working on or it might be something else."

"Donnie, I don't think the NSA would allow anything to happen to Charlie. What are the favors?"

"I need you to rent a vehicle. I know I can't really operate the gear shift, but we need a vehicle here in case we're stranded and Charlie needs us. I'll pay the rental. I also need you to call me if he's acting in anyway suspicious to you or if there seems to be someone around that's acting suspicious."

"I wish I could tell you what to watch exactly but like I said, I don't even know what it is."


	32. Chapter 32

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 32

Charlie slept longer than he had expected and hurried to dress. He needed to get to the NSA to get that security program taken care of. He came out of the bedroom with his sneakers in hand and sat on the couch to put them on. Alan was just walking into the room.

"Where are you rushing off to this early?"

"I need to go into work for just an hour or two this morning. I should have left earlier but I slept in."

"No time for breakfast then I assume?"

"Sorry Dad, but I shouldn't be too long and we can have lunch together. Please don't make a ton of food though."

"Charlie, on your way can you drop me at that car rental agency near the the grocery store? I think seeing a few of the DC sites doesn't sound like such a bad idea anymore."

"Sure. You ready to go now?"

"Let me just grab my phone and wallet."

Charlie drove into the car rental parking lot and his dad got out. "I'll be expecting you back for lunch, so don't keep me waiting."

"I'll be there. Hey, you should rent a sports car Dad. Lots of old… er, lots of older guys do you know."

"Thanks for the advice Charlie, but none of the sites that I'm interested in seeing are under eighty years old and they don't care what I drive."

Charlie laughed and told his dad, "have fun and don't be late for lunch."

When Charlie got to the NSA, he entered the office and set to work with backing up the program. Once he had all of the disks completed, he began the job of wiping the memory clean. Charlie put the disks into a plain large envelope and headed out the door. The bank that he chose was one that was closest to the NSA building. After he had filled out the form and paid the fee he put the envelope in the box, locked it and walked back to his car in the NSA parking lot.

When he reached his car, he looked up at someone calling his name. Vic was hurrying over to him. Vic scanned the area for anyone that might overhear him and he told Charlie that the cabin was all set up for him and told him to be careful that he was not followed. He pressed something into Charlie's hand and told him to keep it bundled until he was away from the NSA grounds. It looked to be another uniform. Charlie thanked Vic and got in his car and drove away.

When he was a few miles away, Charlie unrolled the uniform and there was a small handgun. He put it and the ammo included in the glove box and threw the uniform in the back seat.

When he got home his dad was just setting the table for lunch. "Hey, perfect timing Charlie. I made chicken salad sandwiches and blended it to make it soft enough. And this time I do have iced tea if you're interested."

As they were eating Alan told Charlie that he picked up a tour book at the car rental and was talking about some of the sites he would go see within the next few days. Charlie was only half listening as he thought about what he would need to do once he got to the cabin.

"I have to go back to work this afternoon Dad. I may be a little late so don't worry about me."

"You going to those training classes?"

"I don't think I have time for those today, maybe tomorrow. What kind of car did you rent?"

"I got an SUV. It wasn't something I was considering really but there was not much on the lot to choose from. It's bigger than I'm used to. When I got back here, you know how all those spaces in the front are reserved for the apartments, so I had to pull it around back. I parked it right next to another SUV, same make and model. The owner was just getting out. Turns out he's a new neighbor of yours. His name is Jason Drake and he just moved in last night across the hall. He's in advertising."

"Well I'm glad you're getting the scoop on all my neighbors Dad. You should see what you can find out about that lady living down on the other end here on the sixth floor. She's about your age. Very attractive and I think you just may find that she's retired since I see her around a lot during the day."

"Don't even think of trying to set me up Charlie. I told you those long distance romances don't work out. Besides, Pauline and I are still seeing each other."

"I'm just talking about a way for you to spend a few long days this week. She may even want to see some of those sites that are in that tour book. Thanks for lunch. I have to run." He got his laptop and walked to the door.

"Call me if you're going to be too late Charlie, so that I don't have to worry."

Charlie was just as careful with this trip to the cabin as he was the last and when he pulled up to the rocks and hid his car, he was confident no one had followed.

When he walked in the door, Charlie was pleasantly surprised with the change in the cabin. It had been cleaned and appeared to be dust free. There was more furniture too. A bigger table and more comfortable looking chairs. There was a generator hooked up and even a small refrigerator and microwave. The lighting was crude but it did a good job lighting the entire room. There was also a lock and dead bolt on the door now. All in all, it was more equipped than his garage at home.

"Dr Eppes?"

Charlie turned around and a tall, very powerfully built man flashed a badge at him. "I'm Philip Jordan and I've been assigned to assist you with your research here. Director Thompkins asked that you call him as soon as you arrived so that he can fill you in. He asked that I give you the keys to this cabin too." He handed Charlie two keys.

"Thank you Philip, please call me Charlie since it looks like we will be sending quite a bit of time together."

Charlie called the speed dial button for Bob.

"Hello Charlie. This is right about the time I expected you. Did you have any problems today?"

"None at all, the computer is swept and the disks are safe."

"Do you have the package that Vic delivered?"

"It's in the car. Thanks for thinking of it. I see a mountain of files here. What am I looking for exactly?"

"I had all of the files for the past ten years pulled and there are five other agents other than Philip and myself helping with this. We're looking for anything that mentions either the Judge or the Senator. You will find that most of the files will mention me, only pull the files if they mention a direct threat to me from someone. The Judge will be easy to find since he's tried a lot of cases here in the DC area over the years. The Senator should be the hardest to locate anything on; He has always lived in NY But, he's been a state senator for ten years. Pull any file that mentions either one of them and we'll take those files and see what they have in common. It may take some digging but I think the answer is here."

Charlie and Philip worked through the mountains of files until it was nearly dark. They had come up with more than two dozen files for the judge but so far nothing on the Senator. They decided to call it a day and meet here again early tomorrow morning. Philip told him he was under orders to follow Charlie to his apartment building.

While Charlie got out of his car and walked to his building Philip sat in his car until the front door closed behind Charlie and then he drove away.

Don and Alan were sitting in the living room when Charlie opened the door. Charlie thought it looked like both of them were ready to run out the door at a moments notice. Don looked relieved when he saw Charlie but Alan was the first to speak.

"Charlie I was getting worried, I thought I asked that you call if you were going to be late. It's after nine, I call that late."

"Sorry Dad, I really didn't think about it."

"We have all the food left over from yesterday, what do you want me to heat up for you?"

"A very small plate of whatever you want Dad. I really need to take that pain pill and I think I'll get to bed after that."

Charlie went to the kitchen for the medicine and to pour some iced tea, Don walked in. "I tried to call your cell phone today and it was turned off."

"Yeah, sorry I forgot it today."

"I've never known you to turn your phone off. I've known you to ignore it or even have the sound off, but not the phone. It struck me as pretty unusual for you."

"Don, I probably just haven't charged it. I'll do that before I go to bed."

After Charlie ate he told his father and brother good night and went to the bedroom. He opened the nightstand drawer and put the small gun inside. His cell phone was in his top dresser drawer where he stashed it last night before he borrowed his dads. Don was right, Charlie had turned it off.

He removed the back cover just to be sure and there he found a device that looked like the one that had been planted in Bob's phone.

As far as he knew today was the only day that someone could have gotten into the apartment when no one was home but his phone was. It sent a chill down his back.

Charlie left the phone in the drawer and went into the bathroom to call Bob. When he told him what he had found, The Director told him that he would have someone meet him outside his apartment door in two minutes and he wanted Charlie to hand the phone to him. He told him to just use the new one from now on. Charlie waited in the bedroom for two minutes and then walked to the front door and opened it. It really didn't surprise him that Bob had planted an agent nearby.

Alan and Don were looking at each other. Charlie had without a word to either of them, just opened the door to the apartment and apparently just looked out the door, closed and locked it again and went back to the bedroom.

Alan's glasses were down low on his nose, he had a crossword puzzle book opened in front of him. He looked at Don. "So Donnie, you said that I should inform you if Charlie was acting suspicious. I think that was a little suspicious."

"I agree." Don got up and opened the door. He looked out and when he did not see anything again closed and locked it.

Jason Drake in the apartment across the hall was busy calling the Director with what he found on Charlie's phone. His also contained a tracer and this just stepped up the investigation from one or two renegade agents to a more sophisticated plot.


	33. Chapter 33

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 33

Charlie was up and showered early. The others were just stirring when Charlie walked though the living room so he set up the coffee pot for his family. He made himself a cup of tea and was sitting at the table when Alan came in.

"Good morning, feel like eating breakfast with us? Don's in the shower but if you want some eggs or something I can fix yours up now."

"Sure scrambled eggs without the toast sounds good."

Alan took a skillet and set it on the stove and went to the refrigerator to get the eggs. "You know Don is very concerned about you. Is there any reason that he should be?"

"Both of you worry about me too much Dad. That's not news. I'm all grown up you know."

"Families worry about each other Charlie, its what they do. It's only natural to worry a little more about the youngest."

"I know it is but sometimes it can be a little crowding. You know Don is the one with the dangerous job but I feel like every time I walk out the door you're worried I won't come back."

"A parent's greatest fear is that they will have to bury a child. I worry about both of you for the same reason. I love you both and I want the two of you to outlive me. It's your assignment Charlie; you and Don outlive me and I will die a happy man."

Don walked in just then. "It's getting a little serious in here this morning. What brought this on?"

"I was just explaining to your brother why I'm so good at worrying about both of my sons. What would you like for breakfast Donnie?" Alan scooped the scrambled eggs onto a plate and set it before Charlie.

Don looked at Charlie who seemed to be engrossed in his breakfast. "Any reason Dad should be worried Charlie?"

"Nothing comes to mind."

Don sighed. "Whatever you're having for breakfast is fine with me Dad." He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down next to his brother.

"Going to work this morning Charlie?"

"Yeah I have a pretty full day planned. I'll call if I'm going to be very late though. Hey Dad, you going to do some of that sightseeing today?"

"I thought I would go for a few hours this morning. It's supposed to rain early afternoon and I want to be back before then."

Don finished his breakfast and headed down to wait for Derek to pick him up.

After he helped his dad with the dishes Charlie finished getting ready to leave. He decided to leave his laptop at home since he would be buried in old files again today. He went to the bedroom and got the cell phone that he had gotten from Ted and the small gun from the nightstand drawer and dropped them both into his pocket.

When Charlie walked out the front door of the building, he was surprised to see that Jeff Pitts was sitting on the bench near the door.

Charlie knew that given how much time he had taken off, it was only natural that the team was curious. He recalled what Bob had said about the list and Charlie admitted after the fact that a phony list made up by a few agents with a grudge made more sense.

"Morning Jeff. I thought the team was taking a few days off. I haven't been feeling well and need time before I can return."

"I did hear that Dr. Eppes. I was hoping I could talk to you about something important though. You see, I received something in the mail that I find pretty disturbing and I didn't know who to tell. It's driving me crazy thinking about where it came from and what it means."

"What did you receive?"

"A computer disk and I don't want to tell you exactly what's on it. I'm pretty sure you wouldn't believe me anyway but I don't know who to turn to. I don't know who to trust. I've been with the NSA for six years. It's my life. It's all I have ever wanted since I was a little kid and I think someone is setting me up."

"Jeff lets walk across the street and we can talk there. This is not the place for a private conversation like that."

After they crossed the entered the park, Jeff said. "When the project first started, I was really excited about being chosen. I mean it's an honor to work with someone that had made the organization what it is today. You're already a legend in the NSA. This was something to be proud of. It's my dream assignment really. Computers are my second love. And it could be all over for me now. But, I think I know why I was set up.

I have always kept my personal life completely separate from my career. I don't date fellow agents. Now, Kristen is a beautiful woman and I was immediately attracted to her, but I wanted to stand by that decision."

Charlie had to agree that Kristen was very attractive and he had noticed the looks between the two of them on occasion. Completely harmless from what he could tell. Just a mutual attraction that didn't appear that they had acted on. At least not that he could tell anyway

.

"One day after we left the office, she asked that I meet her at that bar near the NSA grounds. I did decide to join her and we talked. She asked me if I was interested in seeing her socially. I told her that I didn't believe in dating inside the organization and that I had never backed down from that decision before. I did tell her that once the project was over there was a possibility but that I was not thinking that far ahead. I really thought the talk had gone well.

But, just before we left the bar she told me that I would be sorry that I had rejected her. It came out of nowhere really. I didn't expect her anger and I told her that she had mistaken my delay of making any decision for a rejection. I mean she made it sound like I was so cold hearted. She said she had connections that could make me regret my decision.

I got the disk yesterday in the mail and there are a lot of familiar looking names on it. It's a list of the people involved in a conspiracy. There was also a hit list and that Senator and Judge that were killed were on it. I don't know for sure that Kristen is the one behind it, but my name was also on that list and I can swear that I would never be involved with something like this. If that list is true, we're all in trouble. If I'm not the only victim and the other names are also put there for some sort of revenge, than when the disk becomes public I'll be in a lot of legal trouble and my career will be over."

Charlie was not sure where he should go with this. He didn't dare tell him anything that could get out and scare the killer away but then again, he needed to reassure at least a little.

"Somehow Dr. Eppes I get the feeling that this doesn't surprise you. Did you hear what I told you was on that disk? It was a hit list and two of the people on it are already dead."

"Jeff, I think that you should know that there are people that are working on that very thing right now. You're not the only one that received that disk."

Charlie nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard his brother behind him. "No, you are not the only one that received that disk."

Charlie turned around to find Don and Derek standing right behind him. He turned back toward Jeff and the panic that he saw on his face must have mirrored his own. "What are you doing here Don?"

"I came to talk to my little brother about a certain disk that the FBI received in the mail today. Want to tell me about it?"

"What makes you think I know anything about it? Anything could have been sent to the FBI."

"Well Charlie, there are a lot of names on that list indicating a conspiracy within the NSA, but there was one that I was especially interested in. It was and I quote, Dr. Charles Eppes, NSA Consultant."

"What?" Charlie shook his head slowly. "That's not possible. I received that same disk and I know for a fact that my name was not on it."

Don looked from Charlie to Jeff. "And I do believe that you are one Jeffrey Pitts, NSA Agent that was also listed among the guilty."

Don could see the panic in both of their eyes. A panic that he was familiar with, a panic of someone caught in the act.

Don's face was a mask when he said "Agent Pitts, Dr. Eppes, we are here to take both of you in for questioning regarding a certain hit list that was also included on that disk."

It was not that he thought he was beyond the treatment that normal detainees received. It was not the fact that he knew he was innocent. It was not even the fact that it was his own brother.

It was pure panic and fear of what he would have to reveal to the FBI if he was taken in for questioning. He owed his loyalty to the NSA. It was irrational thinking that made Charlie reach into his pocket and pull out the cell phone. He pressed the speed dial for Bob at the same time that both Derek and Don drew their guns on Charlie and told him to drop it. He then pressed the send button. The irrational thinking that made Charlie forget that the gun was even there. The irrational thinking that he did not even notice that his own was gun was now pointed at two FBI agents.


	34. Chapter 34

I do not own the Numb3ers characters

Chapter 34

For as long as he lived Don would remember the shock that he felt when that small handgun appeared in the hand of his brother and was pointed right at him. His reaction was born of instinct. Even his left hand knew what to do without orders from his brain. He reacted and pulled out his gun. It was the sound of his partner doing the same thing though that brought Don out of his shocked state.

Someone that did not know Charlie, that didn't know that Charlie didn't have it in him to shoot, was holding a gun on his brother. His natural instinct to protect Charlie would have won out no matter what Charlie's next move. But Derek was a whole other story.

Don was not willing to bet Charlie's life that Derek would not shoot him. At the same time that they both yelled "Drop it", Don shifted his body into his partner's arm to get his aim away from his brother. It was just seconds later that the gun in Charlie's hand fell to the ground along with a very small cell phone and bounced off the grass.

It took Don's mind a minute to take in what had just happened. Charlie was the most shocked of all. His eyes were big and round and his mouth was hanging open in disbelief. He was staring at the gun. It was clear that he didn't even know he had had it in his hand. It was also clear that the phone call was Charlie's intention since he could now hear a frantic voice on the other end. Don breathed a heavy sigh, put his gun away, closed his eyes and wandered how in the world Charlie had managed to live twenty seven years with the luck that he had.

He picked up the now silent phone and the gun and followed his partner who was escorting Charlie and Agent Pitts to the SUV. Derek must have seen the same look and knew that Charlie had not meant to point that gun at them because he was now speaking to Charlie in a soft voice that Don could just barely hear. Charlie looked to still be in shock as Derek held the front passenger door for him. Jeff was placed in the back seat and Don was sitting next to him.

The quiet ride gave Charlie time to work out in his head what had almost happened. How could he have been so stupid? Calling Bob was needed. Forgetting about that gun was stupid. Charlie pictured himself as the subject of a circulated email that tells the details of a criminal's stupid actions. No doubt the fact that he had been labeled as a genius early in life would make for some humor.

Maybe it was better to give the story to the FBI, hiding it at this point wouldn't make any difference. There were too many disks out there now. The quiet was interrupted by a call. Don and Derek had been ordered to stop the vehicle now and release its NSA occupants.

Charlie could hear Don from the back seat. "What? We can't just let them go." But the orders were clear. They were to stop the vehicle immediately and let them out.

Derek pulled the SUV over to the curb and turned off the engine. He looked at Charlie. "That's some connection you have. We're not even allowed to ask you anything beyond your name and I do believe my partner already knows that. You both are free to go."

Jeff wasted no time in getting out. Charlie was reaching for the door handle to do the same when Don spoke up.

"Not so fast Charlie. Derek, let's take him back to the apartment building."

Derek was hesitant. "Those aren't our orders. Let them out now was the exact order."

"I'll take full responsibility, but I want him dropped off at the apartment."

Charlie looked back at Don. "That's okay Don, I can get out here. It's only another three blocks to the NSA building."

"Derek, drive," was Don's response.

When Derek stopped the SUV in front of the apartment building, Charlie got out and Don got out to speak to him. "You stay in the apartment Charlie. I'll be back in just a little while and we are going to talk." They waited until Charlie was inside the building and they drove away.

Charlie stood inside the building trying to decide what to do. Wait for Don was not his favorite option. He couldn't call Bob because Don never gave him back the cell phone and Charlie didn't even know the number to call.

Having made his decision, Charlie walked out the front door and headed toward his car.

They had only driven a block when Don told Derek to take him back. After they were again back to the apartment building Don told Derek to give him twenty minutes and then come back for him. Just after Derek drove away, Don could see Charlie's car backing out of this parking space. He should have known that Charlie had no intention of doing what he was told.

Don felt his anger rise and jogged to the driveway for the parking lot. He stepped in front of the oncoming car much to the surprise of his brother. Charlie slammed on the brakes and looked at Don like he was a lunatic. Don walked from the front of the car to the passenger door. By this time Charlie had noted that Don was in a foul mood. Charlie debated flooring it and leaving his brother standing in the parking lot. But Don stopped that idea cold when he said "Don't you move Charlie."

The second Don had the door opened Charlie yelled. "Are you crazy? I could have run you over." Don's own angry was barely being contained. He did not want to get into a screaming match with his brother.

"Then you should have stayed in the apartment like I told you to do and this wouldn't have happened."

Charlie's grip on the steering wheel was tight. "I'm not a little kid; I don't have to do what you tell me to do."

Don yelled at Charlie. "Then stop acting like one. Running away every time something goes wrong is childish Charlie."

Don immediately regretted his words when he saw the stricken look on his brother's face. "I'm really sorry Buddy. That was a low blow and I didn't mean it."

Charlie still had his foot on the brake. He crossed his arms over the steering wheel and leaned his head on them. In a very calm and controlled voice that was not at all how he was feeling inside he said. "Don, please get out of the car. I have someplace I need to be."

Don acted like he hadn't heard his brother speak. "Tell me about the disk Charlie."

"I can't."

"You can't? That's it? You can't? What are you hiding?"

Charlie took his foot off the brake. "Fine."

Charlie pulled out of the parking lot and decided that the only way to get Don out of the car so that he could get back up to the cabin was tell him about the disk.

"Someone put that disk in my sports bag last week."

"Last week? You mean you knew about the hit list?"

"No, it was put in there sometime after I got to the training class on Thursday. That was the day I hurt my leg. But I didn't find it until Monday. Sometime between when we left for the run and when you and Dad picked up my bag, someone slipped that disk in there. But I never even opened the bag until you and I were standing in the kitchen Monday morning just before I left. Remember I put the disk on the counter and asked that you take it to the bedroom?"

Don nodded but Charlie was not looking at him.

"The first time I even saw what was on the disk was Monday evening. It was soon after the news report about the judge. I walked in the bedroom and saw it laying there. The program was done and I wanted to find out what I had put on it."

"I saw the hit list and I saw that Bob was the next name so I went to see Bob. I had to keep him safe and he is safe now."

"Charlie, the whole thing just doesn't make sense."

"But, it's true."

"Why is your name on that list of the people involved?"

"I don't know why it's on the copy that you received, but I can promise you that it was not on the disk that I was given. I would never be involved in a conspiracy Don and I certainly would not have anything to do with a hit list. Jeff said someone set him up and I think that's what is happening with me too."

"Why? Why would someone set you up? I can't see how anyone would benefit from that. If you'd already forewarned the Director, there was no point in trying to convince the NSA that you were involved. Why they wanted the FBI to think that I cannot even imagine. I haven't been here long enough for anyone to know we're related so it can't be because I was working on the case. Now, how about you tell why someone would set you up?"

"I already said I don't know." Charlie looked into Don's eyes. "Do you think I would be involved with something like that?"

"No, I don't Charlie." Don saw the relief in Charlie's eyes. "Tell me what the NSA is doing about the disk."

"We're digging through old records to try and find some link with the Judge and the Senator. The answer must be in the old files."

"Makes sense. But that's going to take some time."

"Time that you are wasting, if you don't get out of the car." Don looked out the window and sure enough Charlie had circled back to the apartment building. "Okay Charlie, I'm going to have to trust you and trust the Director to keep you safe. You call me if you find something and need help." Don opened the door. "Be careful Buddy. Don't take any chances."

"I'll be careful."

Don entered the building at the same time that a man he had never seen was rushing toward the door. The man stopped and asked Don, "Where's Dr. Eppes?"

"What do you need with my brother?"

"Director Thompkins wants him taken to a secure location now."

"He just dropped me off and said that he was going to be working with some old NSA files today."

"Come on, let's go. I know where he went. I'm Jason Drake and I have been assigned to keep Dr. Eppes safe."

Don stood and looked at Jason "Well, you're doing a fine job of it."

"I could see him very well when he was in the park. It's when two FBI agents hauled him away that I lost sight."

Don followed Jason around the building to the back and they both got into the SUV. Agent Drake pulled out of the lot with tires squealing.

--------------------------------------------------

Derek has just walked from the diner into the parking lot. He would pick up his partner and drive back the office. The cell phone that Don had taken from his brother was lying on the backseat and when it rang he picked it up.

After he said Hello, a voice that was clearly panicked asked, "Where's Charlie?"

"He's at his apartment building with his brother. Who is this?"

"This is Director Robert Thompkins of the NSA and Charlie is not in his apartment and now he appears to be without his phone. Charlie's life is at stake. Who is this?"

"Derek Collins, FBI sir."

"Agent Collins, this is an FBI case and I need you to find and help protect Charles Eppes, next intended victim of the DC killer."


	35. Chapter 35

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

A/N Thanks for the great reviews

Chapter 35

When had it started raining? Charlie realized that he was barely able to see out the windshield and he hadn't even noticed. That was not a good sign and he made it a point to pay attention. He turned on the windshield wipers and put in a CD. Thinking too much about the disk was not going to get him anywhere but in a car accident.

He squinted through the driver's side window to get his bearings. Why was his name now listed as one of those involved in the conspiracy? He fought the direction his mind was turning to. Where was he? It looked like he must have missed his turnoff because nothing at all looked familiar. He pulled into the first place big enough to turn around.

He pulled back out onto the road and headed the way he had just come. Charlie realized that he had not made the effort to make sure he was not followed. 'Not much point in starting now.' When he saw the turnoff now on his right hand side, he had nearly passed it again and had to hit his brakes so as not to miss it. He took the left fork and made his way toward the barren land that would eventually lead him to the cabin.

* * *

While Jason was racing toward where he believed Charlie would be heading, Don had could feel his anger rise. "Get the Director on the phone. I want to talk to him now."

Jason pushed the speed dial button and handed the phone to Don.

"Jason did you find him?"

"Director Thompkins, It's Don Eppes and I want to know what's going on and I want to know now."

"Agent Eppes, we are doing everything that we can to save Charlie. But first we have to find him. If you had let him out as you were ordered, we would have been able to pick him up. By the time we figured out that you took him home, he was gone.

I just spoke to Agent Collins and I have sent him to the cabin where I believe Charlie would go. Jason also knows it's the first place we should check. The only place that Charlie may be safe now until I can get him to a secure location. The NSA received another disk today and I was called this morning. That disk placed Charlie's name above mine as the next on the hit list."

Don's voice rose. "And he's alone? You should never have had him working on this case. Why did you not have more protection on him? Why wasn't it turned over to the FBI in the first place?"

"Agent Eppes, Charlie wanted to work on this case. It is his line of expertise and I did have protection on him, but that was before he was bumped up to the hit list. As far as why I chose not to inform the FBI, it was my biggest fear that letting the FBI know about that disk would have caused the people involved to run scared only to return later to finish what they had started. Charlie wanted to inform you but we talked him out of it."

"Because Director Thompkins, Charlie knows that the FBI is not all that incompetent when it comes to finding answers or scaring suspects away as you said."

"One thing the NSA has over the FBI is that we don't have to follow the same rules. I did assure him that once we had answers and the guilty in custody that they would be turned over to the FBI at that time. That is still our intention. Right now we have a lot of questions and absolutely no answers. I don't who and I don't why. I only know that Charlie is in grave danger and my team is looking for him. Now please let me speak to Jason so that I can update him."

Don could hear that is was pretty much a one way conversation and Jason wasn't saying much. The rain had slowed down to a heavy sprinkle now.

* * *

Charlie's car was losing traction with every few yards and he had to gun the engine to spin the tires and get the car moving. Until finally the car was hopelessly stuck and no amount of spinning tires was convincing the land to give up its hold on the car.

He knew he still had at least three miles to go to reach the cabin. And from the looks of it he would be wet and muddy when he did get there. Charlie opened the door to get out and found that the right side has sunk and the car was leaning. He had to push pretty hard to get the door to open at all.

After he managed to climb out of the car, he faced the direction that he knew the cabin to be in and he started walking. He was startled to hear a voice behind him.

"Having problems Dr. Eppes?" Charlie turned around and saw Jeff. He did not look the least bit concerned. He had a smile on his face.

Charlie looked around. He didn't see a car anywhere and he had no idea how Jeff could have gotten here so fast from where the FBI had let him out at. He was suspicious and he knew Jeff's being here was not to help him out of the rut his car was in. "Just a few."

"It's just not your day is it?"

Charlie's eyes narrowed. The hair on the back of his neck stood up.

"I mean first you almost get shot by your own brother. Man, that would have been better than my original plan but I guess you only have me now."

"What's this all about Jeff? What happened to the "My life is the NSA speech?"

"Oh that." Jeff smiled. "I really always wanted to be an actor. How did I do?"

"Oscar material. You had me convinced. You want to tell me why you did all this?"

"I joined the NSA to get my revenge. I did as I was told and I managed to fool them all but I hate the NSA. I hate what it stands for. I hate how they turn their backs on their agents that gave everything, including their lives for the organization."

"Sounds like you think you have a good reason to turn traitor. I can't image any good reason to sink down to the level of cold blooded murder. The very scum of the earth Jeff. Something that you can be proud of I'm sure."

"Oh I am proud. I had some help of course, but I did most of this all on my own. How many people can have that kind of power? How many people can beat so many odds? I was able to have two very important men killed. I was able to make some more very important people run and hide. Yeah, I'm very proud of my actions, of my power. I have already ordered the hit on you and the Director but looks like I get to do this one myself. That's okay; the hit man is a personal friend so I'm sure he won't mind that I took over his job. He hates the NSA every bit as much as I do though. But, he wasn't able fool them as well as I did.

"You know I hated that Judge; he was the one that started my uncle on his downfall. My uncle who had lived and breathed NSA all of my life. He was a man that followed all the rules. He knew his job, his obligation and he was good at it. He told me it was his responsibility to keep the scum off the streets. That judge, he accused my uncle of tampering with evidence and he threw a case out that Uncle Steve had put so much of his time into. That was time that he took away from us, his family. Time that he said would be worth it when the man was locked up. But that judge turned that man loose and put a black mark on Steve Pitts' record. A mark that started the downfall. That man raised me. He took over for a father that was nothing but a drunk and whom I haven't seen since I was five. Steve Pitts raised me and he loved me and the NSA killed him. And it's time that all of the guilty pay for their crimes against him.

"Took me a while to catch up to that piece of filth that the judge turned loose, but I enjoyed watching him die, choking on his own blood. Just like I'll enjoy watching you die." Jeff took the gun out that he had kept hidden behind his back. A gun that Charlie had already known was there.

"Jeff, I didn't even know your uncle and I don't believe the NSA killed him. You can't blame everyone for a court error. It could have been anyone that tampered with the evidence and it wasn't the judge's fault that he had to throw out the case. It happens and he was only following the law."

"Oh they couldn't official accuse him but the was in charge of the case. After that my uncle couldn't even get on a team that was handling a decent case or project. No one trusted him anymore and he was babysitting overblown politicians. He died protecting the very scum that he had fought his entire career to get off the streets. Everyone knows that politicians are the worst of the lot and are just well dressed criminals themselves. Terrorist threats against one certain Senator and then a political rally that should have been postponed. My uncle died saving that windbag."

Jeff was now holding the gun loosely and Charlie knew that he needed to get a little closer to him if he even stood a chance of getting away.

"But why me? Like I said I didn't even know the man, why do you figure I need to pay for his death?"

"Not his Dr. Eppes. You have to pay for Kristen's death. I trusted her and she betrayed that trust. She believed that you could stop me; she thought you were better than me and see how wrong she was? Right from the start she talked about how great your mind worked. She told me that I couldn't win. She said that if anything happened to make the NSA suspicious that you would be the one to stop me.

"So I knew I needed to keep an eye on you until I finished what I came for. I trumped up how many people were involved and I added a bunch of nobodies to the list of people that had to die. I thought I had her support finally when she saw all of the people involved.

"But when Director Thompkins disappeared without a trace, I knew that she had betrayed me. And before I let her die, she told me how she did that. She slipped you a disk. But then you didn't do anything to stop those men from dying and she knew that you had to be involved too. That's real funny huh? She thought you'd save the day and you were the one that caused her to die, as sure as if it had been you that plunged that knife into her.

"She must have sent that second disk to the FBI after you let that Judge die. I didn't know about that one but it turned out to be a good thing. Your own brother thinks you were involved with those killings."

Charlie had been inching forward while Jeff was talking and now he saw his chance and he took it. With lightening speed he kicked out at Jeff's hand and when the tip of his sneakers connected with the back of Jeff's hand he heard the crunch of something breaking in that hand and the gun went flying. Charlie looked around for the gun and couldn't see it. He thought now would be a good time to put some distance between him and a man with murder on his mind. He turned in the direction of the cabin and Charlie ran.


	36. Chapter 36

I do not own the Numb3rs characters.

Chapter 36

Jason made a sharp left off the road and took a fork in the road. They were now traveling on a road that really wasn't good enough to be referred to as a dirt road. It was more like a wagon trail complete with deep ruts.

But that wagon trail was much better than when Jason again made a turn off and Don found that they were driving through nothing but mud and large puddles. They did not have to drive very far before they came upon Charlie's stuck car. Don got out to take a quick look. They continued on looking for Charlie who would be on foot now.

Jason handed Don some binoculars that had been in the back seat. Jason called Philip Jordan who was waiting at the cabin to let him know that Charlie was on foot and gave the general direction so the other agent could meet up with him.

Don scanned the barren ground. There were a lot of hills and too many trees. Finally up ahead he spotted movement. He pointed "There. I see Charlie. He's running." Don moved the binoculars slowly and then he saw why Charlie was running. That looked like the very man in the park with Charlie this morning. "He's being chased on foot. That looks like Jeff Pitts in pursuit. Charlie's fast. Pitts will never catch him."

Jason floored the SUV and Don could see they were closing the distance between themselves and his brother. He never saw the impact coming.

Something had slammed into the driver's side of the SUV. He saw the blood that covered Jason and then the vehicle that was now out of control turned sharply to the right and plowed into a large boulder. Don knew before he checked for a pulse that Jason was dead.

He looked back and saw that a dark green SUV was driving away from the scene.

Don grabbed Jason's gun and put it in the waist of his jeans and pulled his shirt out to cover the weapon. His own gun was still in the holster at his side. He ran in the direction that he had last seen Charlie, removing the holstered gun as he ran. He wasn't too bad of a shot with his left hand, as long as the target was stationary.

Don could see that Charlie was well in front of Pitts but the SUV was closing in. Charlie looked back at the SUV and he swerved to his right. Don kept running and when he thought he was close enough he shot several shots through the back window. The driver did not slow down.

Don heard a vehicle approaching from behind and turned to see Derek's black SUV in pursuit. He moved out of the way and Don ran after Pitts, leaving the SUV drivers to battle each other. Agent Eppes had lost sight of Charlie but he could still see Jeff.

Pitts was still on his trail and he was not giving up. Jeff had also lost sight of Charlie in the area of some very large rocks. Without warning Charlie made a running lunge from behind one of the rocks. His body twisted and he landed with both feet at Jeff's midsection. They both fell to the ground but Jeff also had the wind knocked out of him and Charlie was able to grab the gun from where it had fallen. He turned the gun and held it on Jeff while Don caught up to them.

"Great job Buddy."

Don held his gun on Jeff. He did not have any cuffs on him since he was technically on desk duty and he didn't dare send Charlie alone to get Derek. Jeff was still lying on the ground when there was a footstep heard in the mud behind them. Because of the placement of the rocks, Don could not see anything without moving away from his unsecured prisoner. Charlie turned to look at the newcomer.

A man stepped from behind the rocks and he had a gun pointed at Charlie. Charlie did not recognize him. He was tall, husky, had nearly the same shade of blue to his eyes as Jeff and Charlie judged him to be a in his mid thirties. "You've caused us a lot of trouble Dr. Eppes." The man did not seem to know that anyone else was here. Both Don and Jeff were out of sight behind the boulder. Don circled around Jeff so that he could see the man threatening his brother and still keep an eye on Pitts. Jeff opened his mouth, apparently to alert the newcomer to his situation and Don swung his fist, knocking Pitts out, making almost no sound at all.

"After we finish you, the Director is next. He can't hide forever." The new unidentified threat was advancing on Charlie at the same time that he said this. Don moved so that he was slightly behind Charlie but still out of sight. He saw that the man had raised his gun. Charlie still had the gun in his right hand but it was pointed at the ground. Don did not want to draw attention and held his stance barely able to see the man. When the enemy raised his gun and had it aimed at his brother, Don raised his own gun and shot him. The man never saw his death coming and Charlie watched his face register shock as a perfectly placed shot appeared in the middle of his forehead. The would be killer and his gun dropped harmlessly to the ground.

"You okay Charlie?" Charlie had not turned around. Don holstered his gun and reached up to touch his brother's shoulder. "Hey."

Charlie turned slowly to face Don. He looked dazed, blinked and then nodded. "I'm okay." It wasn't very loud and not at all believable.

"Hey listen, I don't know how many more there are out here. Let's get you to the cabin."

Charlie did not look as though he understood a word of it. He still gripped the gun and looked down at it like he didn't know how it got there. Don reached for Charlie's gun; Charlie looked up at him. He loosened his grip on the weapon for just a few seconds before his eyes went wide, shifting from his brother and his grip tightened.

In that instant Agent Eppes knew that there was another threat behind him. He reached for his own gun and was barely turned to face the enemy when Jeff plowed into him knocking all three of them to the ground. The gun that Don had in his hand fell out and landed three feet to his left. He and Pitts both reached for it at the same time and in their wrestle for control of the weapon had moved off of the younger Eppes.

Agent Eppes, who was now laying on his side achieved control of the gun first, given that the hand that Jeff was using to reach for it was nearly useless. Don got the gun pointed in the direction of the rouge NSA Agent while trying to scoot from under Jeff and thus having more control of the situation. "Get up."

Pitts looked to be doing exactly that when he decided to take advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself and reached for the now exposed gun at the waist of Agent Eppes. Just as his hand closed over the butt of the gun, he felt another gun pressed to the back of his head.

"You heard him Jeff; get up." Charlie backed up a step to give him space, his eyes never leaving the hand that was still on the handle of the third gun. Don must have had the same thought because he put his own gun right up Pitts' forehead, his finger on the trigger.

Pitts raised both his hands while he backed up and then raised to his feet. Charlie shifted to the side keeping his gun directed on Jeff but not letting him get between himself and Don. "Back farther than that." Charlie had Jeff backed up far enough from Don so that he was able to help his brother off the ground.

Don would temporarily be out of control of his gun to get back on his feet with only one good hand, but there was no reason for Pitts to know that. "Turn around Pitts." When he did as he was told, Don added, "Now, down on your knees."

Charlie helped Don back to his feet and Don regained control of the gun.

"Come on Pitts, get moving." Don motioned to Jeff with his gun which way he should go. As they were walking past the rock that was blocking the body, Charlie slowed down to lag behind the other two.

When Jeff Pitts saw the body he fell to his knees along aside it with a groan. There were real tears in his eyes when he looked up. "He was my cousin, the last real family I had."

Don waved the gun and rolled his eyes, "Get up and get moving. He came here to kill my brother. He died just the way he deserved."

Jeff surged to his feet, anger in his eyes. "He's never killed anyone. He wasn't supposed to be here."

Charlie stopped next to his brother. "Oscar material Jeff."

Don thought it was an odd comment coming from Charlie until he noticed that the gun near the body was gone and Charlie's was now aimed for Jeff's heart.

Jeff's eyes were blazing when he turned them on Charlie. "You think you're so smart don't you?"

"So I've been told," Charlie responded in a quiet voice.

"You don't know anything. This doesn't stop with me."

Don smirked when he said, "Oh yeah, your friend in the green SUV. My partner was chasing him down."

Faster than Don would have though possible Jeff had the gun pointed at him and pulled the trigger. Don was faster though and the bullet struck Pitts in the upper chest. Jeff's shot went into the sleeve of Don's shirt.

Charlie never had the time to react at all and had not even taken a shot. He watched as Jeff fell flat on his back struggling for breath but looking at Charlie. Don went to the gun that had fallen from Jeff's hand and kicked it away.

Jeff looked like he was pleading with Charlie and so he dropped his own gun and kneeled at Jeff's side. He knew that Jeff was very close to death. Blood was dripping from his mouth when Jeff gasped out, "He'll be coming for you now, your brother won't be able to stop him." After another gasp, Jeff continued. "He didn't know about my own plans for you."

Charlie looked over at Don, who was attempting to roll the sleeve up on his left arm with his handicapped fingers while the gun was still pointed in the general direction of Jeff Pitts. Charlie knew that he had not heard. He turned back to Jeff as Jeff coughed, made a gurgling noise and gasped. "Who will be coming Jeff?"

"I don't…. think the director can even stop him." Jeff laughed and the blood bubbled out of his mouth, "K…Kristen was right you know. You won."

Whether the rogue agent intended to give more information or not Charlie would never know. The gurgling had stopped along with the gasping breaths.


	37. Chapter 37

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 37

As Don and Charlie returned back to where they had left the SUVs they could see that the dark green one had the driver door open and it was empty.

"Charlie, where's the cabin you were headed for?"

Charlie pointed in the approximate direction. "It's still over a mile that way."

"We'll go there. You're not safe out here in the open." As they walked Don's eyes scanned the area and he kept his gun in his hand and ready to fire.

"Do you have any idea how many people Jeff was involved with?"

"No."

Don heard someone heading their way from in front of them and that person seemed in a pretty big hurry. He pushed Charlie toward a clump of trees and told him to get down. Just a few seconds later, a very large wrestler shaped man entered the scene. They both had their guns trained on each other.

"Philip. Don don't shoot. He's one of Bob's men." Charlie came away from the trees. Philip was relieved to see Charlie and both he and Don lowered their weapons.

Don told the newcomer, "We need to get Charlie to that cabin. There may be more people looking to kill him out here. We've left two dead back a there." He pointed behind him.

Philip scanned the area and all three men headed toward the cabin.

Once to the cabin, Philip led them both in and bolted the door. "Someone is very anxious to talk to you." He hit the speed dial on his phone and handed it to Charlie.

Don listed to Charlie's story for a few minutes. He was irritated with the report. They had Pitts. They had him in custody and the NSA turned him loose. If they had made it to headquarters there was a good chance this could have been avoided. He may have slipped up. On the heels of that thought was that Charlie had been alone in the park with Pitts. If he and Derek had not turned up, Charlie may already be dead. Jason may have been too far away earlier to have saved Charlie.

"I need to go find my partner. Keep my brother safe."

Charlie looked up from where he was sitting, a mound of files all around him. "Don, please don't go back out there alone. You'll need backup. Take Philip with you and I'll bolt the door."

"Charlie, I'm a trained FBI agent, I do know how to be careful."

Charlie talked back into the phone. "Bob we have at least one more person out there that likely wants to see me dead. I think Philip should go find that man. I'll be safe locked in here until he returns."

Bob responded, "Okay Charlie, but you better stay in there, no matter what. I have more agents on the way but the mud is slowing them down. Put Philip on the phone."

Don rolled his eyes. Charlie was getting pretty used to getting his own way.

After Don and Philip left, Charlie locked and bolted the door and finished giving Bob most of the details of Jeff's story. He didn't tell him what Jeff said just before he died.

The Director was shocked to hear that with Jeff had managed to fool them all. His security level was high. His background had been spotless. He also had a hard time believing Kristen would be involved.

Bob told Charlie that he and his family would have to moved to a secure location until they were sure all of the people who meant him harm were safely out of the way. He said that he would have an agent go to his apartment for his father and have him grab some things that they may need. Charlie asked Bob to remind his dad to bring his pain meds. It had been a long day without them and his jaw was aching.

Bob kept Charlie on the phone the entire time Don and Philip were gone. When they returned Philip used his keys to get in. They entered with Derek following close behind. Derek told them that he had chased the man and caught him. The man was dead and he had no ID on him but he would be easily traceable through DMV records.

After this information was relayed to Bob he asked that Philip be put on the line. After Philip listened for a few minutes he said "Yes sir" and hung up the phone.

He looked at Charlie. "Dr. Eppes, I am under orders to take you and your brother to a secured location right now. Your father should get there soon as well."

Don immediately found protest to this order. "I have a job to do and I do not have time to hide away."

"Director Thompkins is calling your superiors as we speak. He insists that the family all be taken together so that no one can use you to get to Dr. Eppes. He also said that this way you can be there to protect your brother. Being on guard duty is one step better than being on desk duty. He asked that I mention that as well."

Don did have to agree with that and this way he could keep a closer eye on his brother.

The four men piled into Derek's SUV, and made their way back slowly through the mud. They found agents on the scene where the bodies were and did not stop. When they drove farther they saw that Jason's body had been removed from the badly damaged vehicle.

Don and Derek were both sitting up front and Don told Derek the details for filing the report on the two men that he had killed.

When they got back to the fork in the road, Philip had the Eppes brothers get out of the SUV the three of them got into a car that appeared from behind some trees. There was an agent at the wheel that Charlie had not met. After they had loaded into the car, Philip turned around and introduced the new agent as Kevin Davis.

Charlie was staring at the mud on his pants and Don could tell he was lost in this thoughts. "Hey Buddy?" When Charlie looked up at him there was a haunted look. "You okay?"

"I'm just thinking about Kristen and wondering why she didn't just come to me or Bob. She could have even gone to her superiors in the Legal department. Why the disk?"

"From what I heard you tell the Director, it looks like that at some point she at least gave the impression that she was going along with Pitts' plan. We probably won't ever know Charlie."

"She had such a good thing going with the NSA. A really bright future and Bob thought very highly of her."

Philip drove around the back of a large motel and parked. He and Kevin escorted the Eppes brothers to their room. They were facing the back parking lot on the top floor. After they opened the door for the new occupants they all went in. Philip called the Director to let him know the both brothers were secured. When he hung up the phone he told them their father was on the way. They left the room after instructing them to lock both locks. The agents would be stationed outside.

Charlie looked around. The suite was big with three separate bedrooms and a large bathroom. There was also a kitchenette and Don found sodas in the refrigerator. All Charlie wanted was a shower, some clothes that were not muddied and a pain pill. He lay down on a leather couch in the main room and waited for his father.

He fell asleep pretty fast and once he was sleeping, Don turned on the TV with the sound down low, not that it would bother Charlie. A sleeping Charlie was always hard to wake up.

When Alan came in he did not wake up. Their father was very worried about both sons. Don and he talked in low voices. Alan was visibly upset with how much the violence directed at his youngest would effect the sensitve soul. He was also angry with the NSA for putting Charlie in that position.

Don let him know that the Director had protection on Charlie, but when Charlie's name was added to the hit list it all happened too quickly.

Don went ahead and showered while Charlie was sleeping. They were both muddy and it felt good to have clean clothes on.

When he came out he woke Charlie. Charlie had been dreaming of Jeff's lifeless blue eyes staring up at the sky. "He'll be coming for you now." He looked around and he saw that his father was in one of the bedrooms putting things away. He walked in there and sat on the bed. It broke Alan's heart the way Charlie looked so lost. He hugged Charlie close to him.

"I am so thankful that you survived this attack Charlie. You and Don could have both been killed today."

It had been a traumatic day and Charlie soaked up the comfort that his father's arms held.


	38. Chapter 38

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

A/N: I really want to thank those of you who stuck with the story this long.

Chapter 38

It felt good to have the mud washed off of him. He curls had been stiff with it. When Charlie stepped out the shower he noticed that he had forgotten to bring a change of clothes with him. He tied the towel around his waist and called his dad.

Alan came to the door. "Yes Charlie?"

"Can you please bring me some clothes? I forgot them."

"Sure. Be right back."

When Alan knocked on the door he opened it and thanked his dad for the clothes. When he looked at them though, he found that these were not his clothes. The boxers were his but the shirt and jeans were not.

"Dad?" He called out once more.

Alan was back at the door. "What is it Charlie?"

"These are not my clothes."

"Whose are they then?"

"They're Don's clothes. Please check again for mine."

"Charlie are you sure?"

"They're not mine Dad."

"Uh son, I only brought one change of clothes for each of you. Those were the orders from those people that were rushing me out the door."

Charlie opened the door a small bit and his face appeared in the small opening.

"Are you telling me that I don't have anything to wear but boxers?"

"Sorry. I can't understand it. They were in your dresser drawer."

"That would be because you're the one that does the laundry Dad."

"Well just try them on Charlie."

Charlie had put the jeans on. They were just a little too long and drug the floor. That would've been okay but when he fastened the snap on the pants, he knew he would have a problem. He turned them loose and sure enough, they fell right to the floor without the slightest hint of being slowed down by a hip.

"Dad, they don't fit."

"You are just going to have to do the best you can with them."

Charlie put the shirt on. It was just a normal t-shirt though and it was not so bad being a size or two too large.

"Dad? Did you bring a belt?"

"Do you even own a belt Charlie?"

Charlie sighed heavily. "The sweats that I sleep in?"

No, sorry. I didn't think of pajamas for any of us."

He considered the situation and decided he had very little choice. He opened the door. He hand was twisted at the top of the pants to hold them up. He could see that his Dad was trying not to laugh. Don however had not even tried to contain his.

Alan said, "See, you should have listened to me when I tried to get you to eat more."

Charlie glared at both of them. He looked at his brother and noticed that Don was not wearing any articles of Charlie's that could have been mistaken for his. "Dad? You didn't bring my either toothbrush did you?"

"Well Charlie, the man WAS rushing me out of the apartment and mine and Don's shaving kits were already together. Your stuff was a little more spread out."

"Did you bring anything for me at all?"

"I brought straws." Charlie went into one of the bedrooms and closed the door on his brother's laughter.

He found some socks that were Don's and sat down to put them on along with his still muddy shoes. Charlie had an idea. He opened the bedroom door. Alan was in the kitchen and did not see him. Charlie did not look at Don. He walked to the main door of the room, unlocked it, opened it and stepped outside. He was still holding the pants up.

He knew it wouldn't take long and sure enough there was an agent headed his way when Don grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back into the room. Charlie did manage to hold the door open though. His pants were grasped with very arm Don was pulling on.

When the agent appeared in front of him Charlie shook his arm loose from Don. He smiled at the agent. "Agent…?"

"Reynolds, sir."

"Agent Reynolds. I will give you eighty dollars for your belt."

The man's jaw dropped. Charlie was sure the agent must have not heard him correctly. He looked like Charlie had just offered to buy his wife.

"My belt?"

"Yes, it seems my father did not bring any of my clothes and I need a little help here."

"Sir, I need my belt."

"I could call the Director…." He never got to finish since Don yanked him back into the room and slammed the door.

By the time the door was closed and Charlie could take in what Don had just done, he was too busy reaching for the slipping pants to yell at his brother.

"What did you do that for?"

"You were going to threaten that agent to get what you wanted. Sounds like the Director has spoiled you just a little."

"I offered to pay for it. Don, I just want to be able to walk around without holding my pants up."

Alan appeared from the nearby doorway. "Dinner's ready."

Charlie turned toward the small kitchen just to get away from Don and sat in one of the chairs at the small table.

Charlie was irritated at both his brother and his father over the pants. He was frustrated that he could not even go back to his apartment and that there was the very important question of how many more were there out to get him, and exactly who "He" is. He was angry at his team members for the misplaced trust. He had seen two men die and he was standing close enough to one of them that if he had fallen in his direction he would have fallen on him. He was edgy and could not relax and he felt like he would just explode. He was beyond being able to control the emotions that were boiling to the top. He needed to run or he needed chalk. Both were out of reach for him right now.

Irrationally the only thing Charlie could think of was that if he ran out the door and had to run holding his pants up the agents would only catch him and haul him back and he'd probably lose the pants in the process.

Charlie was sitting just staring at the middle of the table. His anger and frustration was apparent on his face and when Alan opened his mouth to tell Charlie to eat, Don shook his head at him and mouthed "Not now."

A few minutes later Charlie scooted his chair back and when he got up and left the room, the chair fell backward onto the floor. He went back into the bedroom and he slammed the door. His adrenalin did not slow down any.

Back in the kitchen, Don propped his elbows on the table, rested his chin in his hands and sighed. "He'll be okay Dad. He has some anger he needs to get out and trust me, I've seen it many times, even felt it myself on occasion. Once he gets rid of the anger he should be fine. He'll overreact to everything until he can let go of it. It will be in the best interest of all of us if you and I can ignore the outbursts until he finds his way."

After he helped his father clean up Don came up with an idea. He went to the bathroom for the muddied pants that Charlie had been wearing earlier. They were stiff. He brushed the dried mud off as best he could and he walked to Charlie's room with them in his hand. He tapped lightly in case Charlie was sleeping.

But Charlie was leaning against the headboard with one hand behind his head and he was staring at the ceiling. His other hand was on his jaw. '_Probably because that tensed jaw looks to be gritting teeth_.'

Don knew his words would get a reaction. "I'm getting us out of here for a little while."

Charlie looked from the ceiling toward Don. Don continued. "If you look out the window, you will see that there is a really large field behind this building. I'll convince the agent in charge that you need to get out and he can have his men watch the parking lot. The field is surrounded on two sides by fences anyway and you can run off some energy. You'll have to put up with me, but I think I can convince the agents to stay back to the parking lot."

Charlie was almost afraid to believe that he would be able to get outside. "What about Dad?"

"I think Dad will go along with it." He handed the jeans to Charlie and turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Don went back into the kitchen and found the medications. He got one of the pain pills for Charlie, a straw and bottle of water and went back into the main room and sat next to his father who was busy with a crossword puzzle.

"Charlie and I are going to head over to that field that's just on the other side of the parking lot. He'll be fine and can run off some of that anger he has."

"What about the agents in charge?"

"I'm headed that way to talk to them now. Are you okay with his?"

"I don't know if we have much choice. He will only get more tense as the night goes on."

He handed the items in his hand to his dad. "Great, I'll be right back. Give those to him when he comes out and make sure that he waits here for me to get back."

Don was back in less than five minutes. The agent was not happy with the idea but Don got on the phone with the Director to get full cooperation. He assured Thompkins that Charlie could be seen from the parking lot and the agents could still keep an eye on him. Don would be with Charlie and he would be armed. The Director understood the anger issue; he was dealing with some of that himself.

When Don and Charlie reached the field, Charlie just starting running with no warning at all. Don had seen the look in Charlie's eyes and he had a feeling that he would never be able to keep up with his brother. He was wrong, he kept up with him for the entire first lap and after that Charlie was on his own. Don knew that Charlie hadn't even noticed that his running partner had fallen behind. He was off in his own world now.

By the time Charlie slowed down and then stopped Don was sitting in the middle of the field just waiting. Charlie bounded up and sat on the grass with his brother. "Thanks Don that was a great run." As he was doing cool downs, Don could not help but notice what a difference it made to Charlie to be able to run. Don envied that he could make all of his problems disappear so easily if only for just a little while.

Alan had stood at the window of the apartment and watched after his sons left. It was almost as if Charlie was channeling all of that brain power to his legs, given how long Charlie could keep at it.

When Don and Charlie returned to the room they found a belt hanging on the door knob.

Charlie smiled at the gesture of one of the unknown agent and then again entered the room, closed and bolted the door.


	39. Chapter 39

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Chapter 39

Charlie was awakened early the next morning with the sound of a cell phone ringing on the nightstand near his head. Still groggy when he answered, he did not recognize the voice.

"Charlie, we got him."

"Got who? Who is this?"

"It's Bob and we got the hit man doing the killings for Pitts."

Charlie was awake with that comment. "You got him? How?"

"When Jeff told you it was a personal friend, we didn't have to dig too far. Jeff has apparently had an ongoing relationship with a CIA agent. That agent was highly trained in surveillance, getting into secured buildings, and spying. CIA denies he was a trained killer but we only have their word to go on. One of the guns found in his home has been positively identified as the one that killed both the Judge and Senator Atwood. There are plenty of items in his home that indicate he was the one behind getting into my home and my cell phone. There was also a tap on my home phone.

"You don't think its CIA behind this then?"

"No, I think the agent was acting with his own personal agenda and that being to assist Jeff."

"What about Leslie? Do you think she was involved?"

"No and the FBI did have to release her. She has an alibi that the FBI checked into and verified. She had been with the Senator of course but she had left him more than an hour before he was killed."

"I'm glad she was cleared. I don't know her well but I found it hard to believe she could kill like that. What about Kristen? Did you find her body?"

"No body, but we did find some blood in her apartment. It's hers. We have her computer and they are looking for the lists that she made up. We're certain that she did not make the disk at the NSA. Her computer was already checked there. Anyway the good news is that you are free to go back to your apartment. I do believe the threat to both of our lives is over."

Charlie thought of the man that Jeff had told him about. He didn't need to mention it now. Jeff gave the CIA agent too much credit. He hoped that was all there was to it.

After he finished the call Charlie got dressed and went to inform his father that they could leave. When Charlie went into Don's room to wake him up to hear the news, Don awoke with a start. He sat up and rubbed his hand over his eyes.

"The NSA got the hit man and we are free to leave. How does you arm feel?"

"It did not need to be wrapped up at all but you know how Dad can be." The bullet had barely grazed his skin, but it did sting a little and had turned pink with the skin burn. Tell Dad we can make it back to the apartment by breakfast time."

Soon afterward there was a knock at the door and the agent in charge was letting them know that whenever they were ready, their driver would return them home. Charlie handed the belt to the agent with his thanks to whichever of them had made the donation.

The Eppes family wasted no time in getting out of there and returning to the apartment. Charlie's car had been washed and was sitting in his parking space. Alan made breakfast as soon as he was back in the larger kitchen.

After they ate, Don asked Charlie to drive him to the FBI building on his way to the NSA.

Charlie would make some changes to the program and there was to be a new team assigned on Monday. The changes were to insure that no information that may have been compromised by the two agents involved in other illegal activities, could be of any use. He didn't expect it would take him more than a few days. The program would remain secure after installation.

While Charlie was there he stopped in to visit the Tae Kwon Do instructor. He and Vic did set up time for one-on-one training, it would be morning sessions. Charlie decided to stay with the regular Tae Kwon Do class as well and to resume his weight training. He would drop the gun class though. With a slight schedule change, he could be out of the office by six in the evenings. He could run on his own in the mornings now before he needed at the NSA.

When Charlie returned to the apartment late afternoon, Don was already back. His father was making dinner and Charlie changed so that he could go to the gym. He had been looking forward to getting back on the treadmill.

While he was running he had on his ipod and again Don walked in and was not even noticed until Charlie finished his run. Don sat on the bench and waited.

"Hey Charlie, how'd the run go?" He really didn't need to ask. It was written all over Charlie's face.

"It was great. Dad send you down to get me? I know I was here longer than I thought I would be. I just need to do some cool downs."

"No, he's off in his culinary world. I came here to talk to you about something."

"Sounds serious. What is it?"

"Okay, now this is just an idea. The final decision is yours. I'm still looking at six weeks of being splinted with my wrist. At least three or four weeks for my fingers. The DC FBI needs me more than the LA office does for desk duty. They are for the most part, understaffed and I wanted your opinion on my staying another six weeks."

Charlie had finished the cool downs and sat on the bench. He smiled a big smile. "Sounds fine with me Don, but I think that Dad is more the reason than the DC FBI. He can be a little overbearing, believe me I understand that. You are a little helpless when it comes to a lot of things like even opening a beer bottle. It's those easy open containers that are your downfall."

Don looked too relieved for Charlie to miss that he guessed correctly with the dependence on their father. "He's really great Buddy and I don't mean to look like I don't appreciate what he does, but I think I would lose my mind with six weeks of it. You on the other hand are not the least bit coddling, so I should be fine."

Charlie smiled. He couldn't help but think that he used to think the same thing about Don. Then his expression grew serious. "I think that would be a great idea. I mean you did get injured saving my life. The apartment would be too lonely with both of you gone." His voice was just above a whisper as he added, "And I would miss you too much. It's really past time that I let go of the hurt. I can stop blaming you now for not being perfect.

Just two weeks ago, I still thought that this was the answer to all my problems. Leaving home, coming here, being on my own and really just escaping. I'm not sure that we could have fixed our relationship if you had not come here. By the time I get back home it will probably be after the first of the year. That would have made the separation and the hurt more lasting. You did good Don. It was a good plan. You always were smarter than me. You just never knew it."

Don laughed. "Yeah right Charlie. I did it all out of desperation and don't you believe otherwise. I didn't have a plan and I didn't have a lot of faith that it would work. I did have a lot hope though. It could have a lot to do with my fear of losing you forever. You are my only brother after all. And then I get here and you have three close calls with death in four days. Well four if you count each of those shooters. If there is one thing I've learned since that fight we had, it's how much I stand to lose without you in of my life."

Charlie had tears in his eyes. "Yeah, definitely smarter." He threw his arm around Don's shoulder and Don put his arm around Charlie and pulled him in for a hug. "You're my best friend Don and I really do mean it when I say I don't know where my life would have taken me without you back in it but I'm glad I won't have to find out."

"So what do you say Charlie that we make a pact? When things get bad again, we agree to both step back and take our time. We talk it out and before any major decisions are made while we're fighting, we talk them over. Face-to-face, even if there's a lot of yelling involved."

"Agreed and I promise to not resort to violence if you won't listen next time. I'll just yell louder."

They both laughed. "Buddy, you really should consider hiring a bodyguard when I do leave. I have never seen anyone who needs one more than you do." Don stood up. "Okay let's go see what Dad's cooking that has taken him from the real world."

Alan had made all of Charlie's favorite foods and had a few soft foods thrown in for good measure. Charlie really couldn't have taken another bite by the time he left the table that night.

After dinner when they were all sitting in the living room, Alan turned on the TV and turned the channel. At first neither son noticed since they had been talking about what Bob had told Charlie that morning on the phone. But suddenly Don flew out of the chair and turned the TV off. Alan and Charlie looked at each other in confusion.

Charlie was the first to speak. "What happened?"

"What happened? Didn't you hear it?" Don pointed to the TV. "Don't you hate that sound?"

Don was clearly upset and Charlie was not sure what to say.

"Sorry Don, I wasn't paying any attention to the TV. What did you hear?"

"Never mind it was nothing." But Don walked right out the front door.

Charlie looked at his dad. "What's he talking about?"

"I'm not sure. I wasn't listening to the TV either."

"What was on?"

"Baseball." It dawned on Alan at the same time that Charlie was able to figure it out.

Charlie closed his eyes. "Oh course Dad. How could we have not noticed that Don was having a problem dealing with that?"

"You know Charlie, he has had some nightmares and I could usually hear him calling for you. Once I heard him say he was sorry. Usually he ended up waking himself up with his own yelling and then telling me to go back to sleep. By morning, I forgot all about it."

"Dad, please don't mention this to him. He won't want to talk about it and I'll make sure that I approach the subject carefully."


	40. Chapter 40

Chapter 40

The next day when Charlie woke up his dad informed him that Don had already left. Derek had picked him up early.

Before he ate breakfast Charlie went to the gym. He needed to clear his mind and start fresh so he could think. He had some important things to think about.

Dr. Eppes met with Vic and then worked on the program. Early afternoon he went to see Bob. When he walked in Diane again ran from her seat to give him a hug. "Charlie, thank goodness you're okay. Sounds like it was a close call. I had no idea what exactly was going on. The Director was pretty closed mouth about it. He gave me an emergency number and that was all."

"It was a close call but I'm fine. I know Bob lost a good agent though."

"Yes, Jason. His family is having a memorial service for him Sunday afternoon. Bob and I will both be there, but since he was a covert agent he was not well known around here."

I'll have to take my dad to the airport on Sunday but I will try to get there too."

After Diane gave him the location of the service she asked if Don was leaving Sunday too.

"No, he's decided to stay here while he is still on desk duty."

"That must mean that you and he are getting along. That's good news Charlie. Well you will just have to bring him along. Kylie's birthday party is next Saturday. It'll be at my house and I would love it if you can attend."

"I wouldn't miss it."

Before he left Charlie stopped into for a conversation with Bob.

When he got to the apartment, it was quiet. No sign of either his dad or brother. He took the bag he had with him and tossed it into his closet and changed to his sweat pants.

After he returned from the gym he found that Don had ordered pizza and his dad had apparently just gotten back from his sightseeing.

Don told him that he was going to talk Alan into a trip down to that bar on the next block. He had not told his dad that he was staying and thought it may be better over a drink or two.

------------------------------------------------------

Saturday morning Charlie woke Don up. "Don wake up." He tossed jeans, a t-shirt and socks on the nearby chair.

"Come on get up, the day's wasting."

"Buddy, I had thought to sleep in today. I was up too early yesterday. Come back and try again in an hour."

"Dad's making pancakes Don. You love pancakes."

"I'd rather sleep in and toss a few in the microwave in an hour." The words were barely out of his mouth before Charlie could hear the breathing indicating that his brother was already asleep again.

Charlie went to the kitchen for a coffee cup. He decided that he was not stupid enough to use cold refrigerated water but lukewarm from the faucet would do the job nicely.

Don came up sputtering and Charlie wasn't sure but that sounded like a few words that Charlie had never heard come out of Don's mouth when their father was within hearing distance.

Charlie was now standing a good six feet from the air mattress. "Ready for those pancakes now?"

Don was out from under the soggy blanket so fast that Charlie barely had time to run. He ran in the kitchen and hid behind his dad. "Dad, Don's in a big hurry to get to those pancakes. Hope you made a lot."

Alan was facing Don and Charlie was hiding. Alan could already tell exactly what had just happened and he decided that he would calm the situation before anything got broken, like another finger or some teeth.

"Good morning Don. You do look hungry. Charlie requested that I make your favorite breakfast for you this morning. Pretty nice brother you have there don't you think?"

"Oh yeah Dad, a real winner." The look he glared at Charlie let him know in no uncertain terms he would pay for this one. Don tried to shake the water of his ear.

Alan was making good headway calming his oldest son down until he went too far. "You know Donnie, I like your hair that way," while Don was still trying to get it out of his face. And the big mistake topper was that Charlie found that amusing. Alan knew he couldn't save Charlie this time. He decided it was better to stay out of it and turned back to the stove.

Charlie was trapped and the only way out was past Don. His quick thinking nearly saved him. He faked right and then Charlie went low left, past Don who, after all only had one good hand and it was on the other side of his body. He made it all the way to the bathroom. When he tried to close and lock the door his brother put all of his body weight into stopping that action. He pushed the door open and before Charlie really even knew how it happened he was standing in the shower with cold water pouring down on him.

Charlie reached down to turn the water off and grabbed for a towel. "You know I already had a shower this morning."

"Bet you'll think twice before you try to kill me by drowning again."

Charlie had the towel over his head and he was drying his hair while still standing in the tub with wet soggy clothes. "Next time I'm using refrigerated water."

Don reached down and turned the water back on. "Wrong answer Buddy." He stepped back when a wet towel came flying in his direction. "I'm ready for those pancakes now." Don left the room laughing.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Charlie knew he would have a fight on his hands but he did not expect the panic that he saw in Don's face when he pulled into the parking lot of the government baseball field.

"Charlie, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"We're just here to talk."

"No, we are leaving. There is no way I am getting out and with your luck the ball would probably find you even sitting in the car. Let's go."

"Don, I can promise you that I'm not cruel enough to bring you here if there was a game starting. The first game on this field today is 11 o'clock. I brought you here so we can talk about this. You have to face your demons Don, but sometimes head on is not the best way. Baseball was your life for a long time. You have to get past this."

Don closed his eyes and started taking short deep breaths. Charlie knew the signs; his brother was headed for a panic attack if he did not do something.

"Listen Bro. I've learned something in the past two weeks. You can't run and you can't hide. The problem will always be there until you learn to deal with it and put it behind you." His brother did not acknowledge any of it." Don, please get out of the car. I want to show you something. Just try. If you try and you can't do this we can come back another time, but I'm asking that you please at least make an attempt here. It would mean a lot to me if you will let me help you."

Don thought he was going to throw up and he did open the door but he did not get out of the seat. He needed air. Charlie got out and went to stoop down near Don's door.

"That's a start. Hey bro?"

Don looked at Charlie.

"Tell me about the nightmares. Tell me what the worst part is so that we can start there."

Don took a deep breath and let it out. If he couldn't tell his brother who else could he tell?

Charlie was afraid he wasn't going to answer.

"Death Charlie; Yours. Bloody gory death most of the time. I see the ball and it is always headed for you, no matter where I am in the dream, no matter where you are in the dream. It is always headed right for your throat. I can't save you. I can never save you." Don had sounded almost like he was in a trance.

"But you did Don. You did save me."

"But that wasn't until the very last second. I couldn't make my hand move any sooner. If I had, the ball would never have gotten that close to you. If I had reacted just one second earlier, it would have hit my hand and bounced off. I probably would still have at least one broken finger but you wouldn't have been touched at all. I might have saved your life with the movement Charlie, but I didn't save you."

"So, Don, let me see if I have this right. The ball is hit into the stands. It is heading toward me. Me, who is at a baseball game and not actually even watching the game, you just happened to be paying a bit more attention and stop that ball from killing me. So, it's not the batter's fault, he made a poor judgment when he hit the ball. It's not my fault for not paying attention. But you who happened to be doing a much better job of paying attention and stopped the ball, think that my getting injured is all your fault. Is that right?"

"Charlie, I already told you that I know it was an accident. That ball coming into the stands was not anyone's fault. You had things on your mind, not your fault. But I did see the ball. I did see where it was going and I did know it would hit you if I didn't stop it. It is my fault that you got hurt. Better hurt than dead Buddy. But I did fail you. FBI training teaches you that your reflexes can mean the difference between life and death. Every time a dangerous situation comes around, I have to rely on my reflexes. If they fail, people can die. I could die or I could have let you die. I depend on those reflexes. And they failed me. And I failed you."

"Don, isn't the fact that you didn't let that ball hit me the most important thing, the only one that really matters?"

"What about all that pain you had? The way I see the situation, I had to make an instant decision. I had no time to think them over. First choice, do nothing. You die. Second choice, wait until the last second and save your life but cause some facial injuries. Third choice, stop that ball sooner and you're not touched. Whether you know it or not, I let you down, my reflexes failed me and I was forced into a bad choice."

A thought occurred to Charlie. This was probably not the best time to ask this, but he knew he had to have an answer now. If he didn't he would constantly wonder. "I want you to look me in the eye and tell me something. Was this whole last week about another guilt trip you were on? Was the time you spent helping me when I was sick all because you felt responsible?"

Don looked at Charlie when he responded. He did not even have to think about it. "No, that was not a guilt trip that was my little brother in pain. I needed to be there for you but it was not guilt."

Charlie relaxed. Now, they could deal with the real issue. "How often do you have these nightmares?"

"Just about every time I sleep. Occasionally more than once a night."

"What are the things that all of the nightmares have in common?"

"Bat, ball, your throat and me not being able to save you."

"What about people? Are there other people?"

"Sometimes, sometimes the stands are full, sometimes you're the only one in the stands."

"You're not always next to me?"

"No; But I usually start out there."

"Do I say anything in any of them?"

Don couldn't say it. He tried but it would not come out.

"What Don? I can't hear you. What do I say?"

He heard him clearly the next time. "You turned on me Don!"

Charlie felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. The blood left his face. What?" It was just barely about a whisper. A shocked whisper.

"You say that in almost all of them. When I couldn't save you, you say, you turned on me Don. I keep hearing that Charlie. It won't leave me alone at night. Even if I don't have the dream. I keep hearing it."

"Oh My G--," Charlie leaned his head down on his arms that were supported on his knees. "I did this. I brought those nightmares on." Charlie got up and ran nearby to just under the stands and he threw up. '_I did this_.' Charlie felt trapped. He couldn't breathe. '_I did this_.' How could he help Don when he was the very one that had caused the nightmares? Don was not just having bad dreams about what could have happened. He was mixing in Charlie's own words from the conversation just prior to the accident.

Those dreams had to be tearing Don up. A protector by nature, a protector most of Charlie's life and he not only saw Charlie's death but heard his brother blame him for it over and over again.

This was too far over Charlie's head. This wasn't just about working up the courage to walk back into a baseball game. He couldn't help Don. He'd let go of his own hurt but he'd dumped a ton of it back on his brother. He couldn't fix this. '_Run, I need to run_.' He could feel his own panic now. '_Can't lose it here. This is about Don's demons and if I lose it, it will not help anything. One lap and I can calm a little_ _at least enough to drive us out of here_.'


	41. Chapter 41

I do not own the Numb3rs Characters, just a really spoiled Sheltie

Chapter 41

Don was not comfortable telling his brother about the dreams. But if anyone deserved to hear about them, it was Charlie. If anyone could help him through it, it was him. He had to be completely honest.

When he heard Charlie say 'I did this', he was not prepared for it. Don didn't think he'd blame the dreams on himself. When Charlie ran toward the stands, he was pale. When he finished and his stomach stopped heaving, Don waited expectedly in the car. He did not want to be here. He did not want to get out of the car.

He'd seen that look not that long ago. That panicked look. When Charlie started running, Don knew he was trying to escape his panic. Don noted that when Charlie ran onto the field, it did not cause his own anxiety to go up. He had thought he would react strongly to seeing his brother anywhere near a baseball field. It might be empty but it was still the scene of the nightmares. Don got out of the car. He took slow steps, there was some fear of him going to the field himself, but he was not overwhelmed by it.

He could not go to the bleachers. He couldn't even look at the ones where he and Charlie had sat that fateful day. But he was closer to the field now. He could see Charlie and the look on his face worried Don. He stopped there and watched him. Charlie's reaction to the nightmares was not what Don had expected. He shouldn't have told him everything. He had felt that he needed to be honest but maybe that was too much honesty.

Charlie passed him again. His expression only somewhat more relaxed. Don knew that Charlie had seen him when he passed. When he stepped onto the field himself, the anxiety that he thought would be so much worse did not come.

Don walked to home plate. He stood there and watched his brother for a minute. He slowly lifted his eyes to the bleachers and scanned them until he came to the ones that they had been sitting in. He'd seen that same view from this spot in his dreams. This time when Charlie got near Don, he stopped and walked to home plate. His panic had subsided and now he felt the guilt. They stood there, side by side both now facing the bleachers.

Charlie noticed that Don's body was tensed. "Don?" Don blinked. "Are you still with me here?"

He nodded. Then Don looked at Charlie. "I think for a second I thought I was back in the dream. But, I'm okay now."

"Are you?"

"Yeah Charlie, I'm okay with being on the field. I'm okay with you being on the field. Coming out here was probably the best idea." Don looked toward the bleachers where they sat last week. "Buddy, let's go sit up there, we need to talk."

"You sure Don? We don't have to."

"I'm sure." Charlie and Don walked to the bleachers on the third baseline. Charlie walked up to the fourth row. He sat down near the edge the way he had been before and Don sat next to him. Don was sweating and his breathing was fast, but he was here.

Charlie waited until Don's breathing slowed down. Charlie said, "You're the one that told me that I was to remember that you weren't perfect. Seems to me you need to take your own advice and ease up on yourself a little. You did the best you could with that foul ball and I'm still around because you did. There's something else important I need to say. I'm so sorry that I said those words. I wish I could take them back now."

"Charlie, listen to me. I have had this in my head all week. I'm sure there was a reason for you to say them. You must have believed they were true and taking them back won't work. We need to talk about it."

Don propped one foot on the seat in front of them. Charlie noticed that little by little Don was relaxing. "You were right when you said that we needed to come here to talk. This is where it needed to be finished. I think I remember everything you said last week. Maybe not word for word, but I do remember what you said. I promised you that I would let you have your say. But, we were interrupted and I never got to comment on your words. Now, my conscious mind knows that you said you have let go of the hurt and we've talked over some of the problems. My unconscious mind needs us to finish that conversation from last week.

Buddy I'm guilty of a lot of things when it comes to how I treated you. You said that I turned on you and that was the hardest to hear. That was why I kept it in my head. I may have made a mistake in telling you that part of my dream. But Charlie, we have to be honest with each other. Rebuilding the trust between us is vital. If I had held that part back, I was not being honest. That's the part that we need to talk about, my betrayal. Only you really know how my actions hurt you, only you can describe the pain that you were feeling before you left. I'm glad that you shared them with me. Charlie I have to ask you this. Do you trust me?"

"With my life Don."

Don had to smile. "Yeah well, we've already proven that one a time or two this week. You said that I turned on you. You were telling me how I made you feel. I'm glad you told me, even though it hurt to hear it. You were being honest with me. You think that I betrayed you and I think betrayal is the ultimate pain; the ultimate hurt. And it was important for you to tell me.

Charlie I wasn't there for you, I let you down, my head was all tied in up in that case, I expected too much out of you, I lost sight of the respect you deserved as a consultant, a person and as my brother. When tensions got too high and I was being a real jerk, I hit you. A ton of crimes there Buddy. But until you said it, I didn't think that I had betrayed you. That's why I need to know. Do you really trust me? Could you trust me not to turn on you again? I need for you to tell me about that betrayal. I need to hear it."

Charlie hesitated. He had to be so sure that he got his words right and stayed with the facts instead of letting his feelings at the time rule. He answered. "I believe it when you say how sorry you are. I believe that you wanted to make things right between us again. I know you've done everything that you can to show me how much you do care. And I don't think you would hurt me like that again. The betrayal is your word Don. I never said that you betrayed me. Back in LA, I needed support and I got anger. I would probably have been okay if you had not come around at all. I could have done fine without that support, but your anger in the face of my downfall hurt. If I'm hanging by a thread over a cliff and you push me, that was where I saw you turning on me. You came around and you were pushing on that thread. I don't think your ultimate goal was to hurt me, but you weren't seeing me either, you weren't seeing that I was already in trouble. I honestly believe that betrayal implies something that's deliberate and I don't for a second think that you went out of your way to deliberately hurt me. I know I can trust you; you won't have to earn that back."

"Thanks Charlie, that means a lot really. You're right too; I wasn't seeing you at all. But I would never betray you. Not like that Buddy. There was a sort of betrayal on my part and that was that I betrayed our being brothers and you being able to depend on me. I am guilty of that one and I am going to do my best to make that up to you. Another thing Charlie, I remember that you asked me 'why now' for when I spilled my guts that night. The most important reason for the 'why now' is because I knew that I was going to lose you if I didn't let you know how important you had become to me. It was hard to do; I've never done it before. But it was my only chance Charlie. I knew how I felt about you. But, when you said those things on the roof that night, I realized that you didn't know how I felt. Because I had never told you. It became a major issue for the main reason that I need you and you were ready to walk away. They weren't words that I would have normally said if I didn't know for a fact, that I had no choice. I've never been a very open person. I've never shared my real feelings with anyone."

Charlie said, "I want us to make it through this and we almost have Don. We're almost there, we have this one big bad dream that I want to help you with. I'm sorry that the things I said were followed by the accident or we may have been able to talk them out last week, but we are talking now and we are two reasonably intelligent men here. We can find the answer to making those dreams stop. You've apologized many times for what happened. I want to apologize for what happened too. For the first time in twenty seven years I hit you. That was not a rational mind at work Don. That was just as much of a shock to my conscious mind as it was to yours. I'm sorry that I let it get that far. I let you down then. I also let you down when I walked away without talking out the problem. So now we both know that we let each other down. We both learned that neither of us has a perfect brother. But we both learned a lot more than that these past two weeks. We've learned that we can talk out a problem; that when we get mad at each other, we can still be friends. We both learned how important the other is to us. I think as a team, we do really well.

The Eppes brothers. We're a set Don and it'll work for us because no matter what, in the end we will have each other's backs. I will always be there for you and I don't doubt at all that you'll be there for me. We hit that rough patch and it sent us on an out of control skid, but we are back on track and we won't be caught off guard again. I really feel like there isn't anything we can't get past if we work on it together and one big ole bad dream just doesn't stand a chance."

Don laughed. He was now leaning back against the bleacher behind him and had his ankles crossed in front of him. Charlie thought he looked relaxed enough to sleep. Now was the time after all.

"I'll be right back. I just need to get something out of the car."

Don had not been expecting the sudden change in Charlie or his flying down the bleachers. He sat up and then leaned back again and crossed his arms with a yawn. Charlie really had woke him up too early this morning.

Charlie opened the trunk. There were a few cars in the parking lot by this time but there were no players on the field yet. It took longer than he thought it would to return. And when he did he found a whole new dilemma. Charlie stood to the side of the bleachers and called up to Don. Don awoke from his doze, looked over the side and he laughed. Charlie made quite a sight, but he was covered head to ankles in a catcher's uniform.

Charlie smiled at Don's reaction. "Laugh it up Bro, I brought you one too." He tossed the bag up to Don. "I have to warn you though, bleachers and all this gear to do mix well." He struggled back up to his seat.

Don looked in the bag. Aside from the helmet and face mask was a lot of padding and there were also two catcher mitts. A few bottles of water and a ton of straws completed the inventory. He had the straws in his hand. "Do you need this many Buddy?"

"Absolutely. Everyone sitting anywhere near us gets one. No more exposed throats on the third base line."

In the spirit of Charlie's efforts, Don put on the gear with a lot of help from his brother. They laughed about it all the way through his getting outfitted for the game. There were now a lot of players around.

One wearing an IRS hat walked over to them. He stood looking up at the sight of two catchers in the stands. "This is just a guess but are you the brothers that were injured last week by that foul ball I hit?"

They both laughed and Don said, "Lucky guess. But we're prepared today, do your worst Tax Man." The three of them shared a laugh.

"I'm glad you're both okay. I'm really very sorry about that. I had heard that the hospital released you both and that was a relief. I have had the worst time with dreams of that foul ball and I think that you both being here and being okay will help. I'm Josh Hughes and I don't normally attack Feds or NSA personnel." He reached his hand up to shake Charlie's hand.

"Charlie Eppes and this is my brother Don. We're both on the mend now."

"Thanks for coming back to the game. And really I can understand that you can't be rooting for the IRS to win this game. This is the first game of the playoffs."

Charlie answered his challenge. "Mr. Hughes, the IRS always wins. I'm surprised the NSA team showed up at all."

"That's a record that's just waiting to be broken. It was nice meeting you and enjoy the game."

Don handed one of the catchers' mitts to his brother and while they were putting them on a man and woman took a seat next to Don. The playoffs were attracting more people than the regular season games. The man was sitting next to Don and he looked up, surprised to see his partner.

"Hey Derek, I didn't expect to see you here today." Don was suspicious of the nervous glances. He kept looking from Charlie and back to Don again.

"Uh, hi Don, Charlie." He nodded toward Charlie. "I didn't notice that was you. No offense guys but Paula and I aren't sitting anywhere near the two of you. I'm glad you're well padded, but you are a target and anyone sitting near the two of you is just asking for trouble." Derek turned to the people on the other side of Paula and as a group they all got up and hurried to the section of bleachers further down. A few other people who had overheard got up and moved away as well.

Don looked at Charlie and they both laughed. "We're branded for life now Bro. We face a future of empty bleachers all around us."

Don leaned back again and stretched his legs out. "That's okay Buddy. You're the company I would prefer anyway and I can stretch out. Besides, if word gets out about us, we won't have any nearby competition for those fly balls at the pro games. And a big plus is that Dad will get all his straws back."

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A/N: Thanks guys for hanging in for this long story. It only looked like I was opening up a new major storyline. A special thank you to all the Don fans that kept reading after those first chapters.

Epilogue to follow


	42. Chapter 42

I do not own the Numb3rs characters

Epilogue

Charlie was in the back of the closet when Alan went into the bedroom. "Charlie what are you doing in there?"

"I'm looking for a bag that I threw in here the other day."

"A bag? I didn't see a bag in there for you."

"It had three belts in it."

"Oh yeah, I saw it. Sorry I thought that was Don's."

"Dad, where are the belts?"

"I packed them and right now they are in one of those seven bags that you made me pack back up."

"Why did you pack them?"

"Don can't wear a belt right now."

"Did you pack all the belts?"

"No, I left one for Don."

"I'll have to wear that one than."

"Sorry Son, He's already wearing his belt. He did need to have one for the memorial service."

"Dad am I going to have to go in the hall and try to buy someone's belt or are you going to go down and look for mine that you packed up?" Alan left to go look for the belt.

When Charlie came out he had on a black suit with dress shoes and a white shirt.

Charlie saw that Don was ready and waiting for them. "Looking nice Bro. But you are going to have to watch how much you drink. A belt and button on your pants could cause some trouble."

"Yeah I know. It was already embarrassing enough to have my father help me dress." Charlie tied Don's shoes for him and just to be safe, he knotted them.

As it turned out today would be a longer day than they had planned. Late yesterday Bob had called and said that immediately following the service today he was inviting the Eppes family to a luncheon at his house. He had arranged to change Alan's flight and said he would pay all the extra charges, boost him up to first class and pay to ship the extra bags. Alan would take Don's SUV home with him from the long term parking lot at LAX.

They had decided that they would keep the rented SUV for an extra day so that all of the bags would fit in the back. Charlie planned to return it later that day. He put his bike and his backpack with a change of clothes in the back.

The Memorial service was a somber affair of course. Jason Drake's family was large and he had a young wife. His normal day job had been with a local advertising company. There were quite few of his co-workers there. They had only been told that he died in a car accident hit by an unknown person who ran a stop sign. It seemed none of his family knew the truth either. Charlie would have liked to speak to the family regarding his death but Bob convinced him not too. They were able to arrange an anonymous donation to the family. Charlie wished he could do more for them. Bob and Diane seemed to have been this route before.

They followed Bob's car back to his house. Charlie was not surprised that the lunch affair was more than Bob had led on. He had fallen into that very situation with the Director before. Charlie greeted Bob's wife, Beth and introduced her to his father and brother. The Vice President was actually a friend of Bob's and he and his wife were also there. The covert team were all in attendance as well as Diane's family and a few people that Charlie did not know.

Charlie had been placed at Bob's right and was seated across from Diane and her daughter. His dad sat next to him and Don on the other side of Alan. Charlie noticed that when the meal was served, Don's plate had already been prepared for his handicap. That was a relief to them both. They were sure that Alan would attract attention when he cut Don's meal for him. Charlie made a mental note to thank Bob for thinking of it.

After the meal was over Bob stood up and said that he wanted to make a toast. He raised his glass. "To Jason Drake for his dedication to the team and the ultimate sacrifice." They all stood and drank a toast to the recently deceased agent.

Just as everyone was sitting back down Bob added "And a toast to Dr. Charles Eppes; my good friend and NSA Consultant; without whose efforts the DC killers may not have been stopped. I also want to personally thank him for saving my life."

Charlie had not expected the formal acknowledgement even with the limited amount of people. There was a small roar of noise as the group saluted Charlie. He was a little embarrassed to be caught off guard but he rose with his own glass. "Thanks Bob. I want to say that most of the credit for stopping the killers goes to my brother." Charlie raised his glass. "To FBI Special Agent Don Eppes. Thanks for showing up when you did Bro. And for always managing to be in the right place at the right time to save my skin." Another small roar.

Don was not looking very happy with it but he stood up. "Thank you, I just want to add two things. First, that my partner Agent Derek Collins also assisted with stopping the three men at the scene and second, Charlie, you were doing a pretty good job on your own when I arrived and before you had gun. The NSA training is doing very well by you." Again a small roar could be heard along with a chuckle from Bob and there was a proud look on Vic's face.

The Eppes family left soon after the toast. The Vice President came over on their way out to offer his own thanks for saving Bob as well as to stop a potential scandal from becoming public that could have caused massive damage.

As they got into the rented SUV for the trip to the airport, Alan told them that he was very proud of both of them. When they got to the airport there was a skycap waiting as per Bob's instructions to take all the bags that Alan was returning home with.

Charlie and Alan unloaded the bags for the skycap and assisted with getting them onto the cart. Charlie was surprised when his dad put the carryon bag with the rest to be checked. The largest one, the much missed bag from the trip to DC was sitting off to the side.

"Dad make sure this one goes too. You don't want to leave it behind."

"Oh it's not getting left behind Charlie. I am personally making sure that that bag stays with me every step of the way."

"Dad sorry but you know that bag is too big to be referred to as a carryon. They won't let you take it. Just let them put the bag with the rest."

"Son, I cannot lose that bag this time. It has a lot of essential items in it along with my clothes. I'm going with the assumption that it is the only bag that makes it home."

"It has to be able to fit in the overhead and that won't. That suitcase must weigh more than eighty pounds. Do you want to know the odds of them losing the same bag twice in a row? It's in your favor to just check the bag."

"I'm going first class this time Charlie, trust me they will find a place for the bag."

"Okay well good luck with that then."

They said good bye to their dad. Don would be home around mid August. Charlie told him that he planned to come home for the Labor Day weekend no matter what military base he was scheduled to be at during that time. It was a hard good bye for Charlie and he clung to his dad just a little tighter than he normally would . Then to their surprise, Don put his arms around both of them and the Eppes family crossed over that line to become a 'group hug type family'.

Alan was going to miss his sons. His voice cracked when he told them "You boys take care of each other for me. I want all of us to be together again as soon as this project is over and Charlie, I would consider it a personal favor if you could put a rush on it."

"Thanks for coming to visit and for all your help. I love you Dad." One more hug from his dad and then he was gone.

Charlie dropped Don off at the apartment and returned the SUV to the agency. His bike ride back did not take very long. When he walked in the door he was met with a humorous site. Don was sitting in the recliner with his bathrobe on as well as his dress pants and black dress shoes.

The glare he gave Charlie when he walked in was not a welcoming sight and Charlie thought it was probably not a good idea to laugh at his brother at that moment.

Since Don had not said anything, but was not looking too happy either, Charlie decided he should start the conversation. "Uh Don? That's an unusual combination that you're wearing. Are you in the process of changing clothes?"

"Well yeah Buddy, that was my intention."

Then when Don didn't continue, Charlie raised his eyebrows and said "Well? Is there a problem?"

"You could say that. Charlie, do me a favor. Don't offer to tie my shoes again. I have the bathrobe on because I was trying to remove my pants and I could unbutton them fine. But….I cannot undo that damn knot that you tied."

Charlie tried to keep the smirk off his face. "Uh Don, so you're reclined back in the chair for just one reason aren't you?"

Don nodded. "Yeah Charlie, just to keep my pants up." Charlie laughed then.

"Think it's funny? I can't use scissors little brother and with that thick tie that you call a double knot, I couldn't even cut the laces off. Using a knife in my left hand is useless anyway but I have never seen a knot like that. I mean who ties shoes like that Charlie?"

"Don, why don't I get you a beer and then I can see what I can do about the knots. I suppose you've already tried to take the shoes off without untying them?"

Don sighed a heavy sigh. Charlie went and got the beer and a knife. He opened the beer and handed it to Don. Charlie did not have much luck either with the knot and did have to saw through the laces with the knife.

Don was still reclined in the chair and in no hurry to move now. Charlie was sitting on the couch. Both seemed to be off in their own worlds. Charlie was surprised to find that they were thinking the exact same thing.

Don said, "Five bucks says Dad found a way to keep that bag in the seat right next to him."

Charlie laughed. "Yeah? I think they tossed it in the cargo area before he even found his seat. I'll take that bet. I bet on cargo and you get the rest of the plane."

Later that evening after he had finished with cleaning the kitchen, Charlie's cell phone rang. Within the first thirty seconds of the call, he had his hand out in front of Don. "They did? That is horrible Dad. I agree; they just shouldn't treat a first class flyer that way."

Charlie put his dad on speaker phone and he lay down on the couch. Don was stretched out on the recliner and they listened to the many faults of our nation's airlines. Don fell asleep with a slight smile on his face. All was well with the Eppes' men once again.

Finis

A/N: In case anyone is interested, there is a sequel on the way. Much as I wanted to, I just couldn't leave my guys in their 'Happy Ever After' world. Thanks for the great support and all the helpful tips on my first full length fanfic.


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